Life
by djinni14
Summary: Another variation on my "Bear an I" Story. "Life here began way out there amongst the stars." - NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Life**

_Chapter 1_

_Li__f__e here began out there, far amongst the stars_

Jim, Johanna, and even Katie were out hunting. They needed meat. But they weren't the only predators around here. One in particular was extremely dangerous, even to them.

Jim froze and waited. He waited to see if his prey had spotted him and needed to make sure his mate and their cub had also noticed. Finally he took hesitant steps, one paw at a time, very slowly. Part of the problem was that this area was green and lush and the ground was full of dried brush. Not a good place to be hunting. However, they had overhunted where home was so they were forced to go farther and farther out to find meat.

It was a good place to come and pick berries or other fruit but that wasn't what this trip was about. They needed meat or life was going to start to get hard for all of them. They were carnivores and they knew it, they felt it. Berries were good but not what they needed.

Then Jim made a noise and he froze with his eyes firmly on his prey. It had only lifted a head to scan the area and was sniffing the air madly. It didn't want to die but it needed food too. Jim cursed his luck and took another careful step. Just a few more steps and he could outrun it and take it down. He was hoping his mate was right behind him and their cub either next to her or right behind her. Once it was down they could kill it quickly and not make it suffer. Then take it home.

Just a couple of more steps and he would rush it. Then suddenly seemingly from nowhere their largest and most dangerous competitor landed on it, ripping it open and killing it instantly.

Jim was simultaneously amazed and frightened out of his mind. He stood perfectly still. Except he could also now smell the blood from the kill and his stomach was starting to complain a little louder. Then if it was possible he went whiter than he already was. Even the orange colored parts of him should be turning white. The black hairy beast turned its head, looked right at him, and showed him its teeth. It didn't help that it was twice his size and had a mouth filled with huge teeth. Even its claws were larger. It was a true killing machine.

Jim got the message loud and clear. It had seen both him and his prey. Instead of killing him it had killed his prey just to show him who was boss around here. Jim had only detected his prey and not him. So he was alive but he also could just as easily be dead and end up in his belly.

He had what he wanted and Jim decided it was time to run away and look elsewhere. He had lost this one but this enemy was satisfied so he wouldn't lose the next one.

Jim turned his back on both of them and bolted, almost instantly seeing his mate not that far behind him. Jim ran past her and kept on running knowing his mate would be right behind him.

He found a nice big tree and climbed it, digging his nails into the trunk and limbs and heard his mate doing the same. He didn't go far. He found a niche for both of them to occupy and waited for her. When she did he shifted into his other form. It took a couple of seconds and it hurt a little but it made communication simpler for both of them.

He watched his mate shift as well. The sound of shifting made it sound worse than it was but he knew it hurt. "What?" His mate wanted to know what had gone wrong.

"Beast. It had spotted both of us but it chose my prey instead. It could have killed me but it didn't," Jim explained. His mate sighed and leaned into him for him to put his arms around her.

Johanna told him what he already knew. "We needed that kill." But she was glad the beast had killed his prey instead of him. She loved him and didn't know what she would do without him.

They were both naked because of shifting to this form but it wasn't that cold or overly hot though it was humid. "Where's Katie?" Jim didn't see her.

"I didn't see her. I couldn't tell you for fear of scaring any prey away. I have no idea where she is." Johanna left his arms so she could go out onto a branch and look around. The height they had should help. But she didn't see her or any movement.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Jim asked.

"Not long after we left the white stuff," Johanna said, knowing that that was bad.

"Great, that's just great!" Jim was angry. Not angry at his mate but he was angry at Katie. She knew better so what did she think she was doing? Their cub was in big, big trouble.

Johanna partially defended her. "She's growing Jim. Becoming more stubborn and opinionated and has her own ideas."

"If it gets her killed I'm going to kill her." Jim knew that wasn't possible but he would try and find a way. "We need to find her." He shifted back and watched as his mate did the same. Each time it didn't take long but it did hurt every time. It certainly sounded like it did. The sound was also a dead give away to another predator so shifting was limited to when it was necessary.

Jim climbed his way down the tree to the ground and went back the way they'd come so they could start their search for their wayward cub. She should know better than to do something this stupid. They hunted as a team, not alone.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Katie knew her parents were going to be upset with her, but hunting where they were going was really uncomfortable. It was hotter and far more humid. Hunting on the white stuff was much more comfortable. It didn't hurt her paws and she actually blended in better than her parents did. And she had spotted something in the distance.

So she was walking across nothing but white stuff that was getting deeper and deeper. It was even starting to get a little more slippery from time to time, though her paws didn't seem to notice so long as she kept her claws retracted.

There, she saw it again. It was a black mass and it was smaller than she was. Or at least that was what it looked like to her. Like her parents had taught her she crouched way down and almost crawled though her paws were the only part of her that touched the white stuff. She kept her eyes on her prey.

She even found a berm of white stuff for her to try and hide behind. This allowed her to stand up a little more and take some strain off her legs. She was getting closer and closer. Then suddenly the white berm she was next to erupted. There was this enormous white thing that shook away the white stuff which showed off lots and lots of white hair. It was all white save for its black nose.

It had a big head that when it roared at her she could see it was full of big sharp teeth. It also had paws that were far too big for itself that were also filled with claws far larger than even her largest fang.

Katie didn't know why but her claws extended and as she frantically tried to get away from it before being ripped apart she was slipping all over herself.

Out of nowhere this silver colored thing jumped on it and began ripping it apart. The white haired whatever it was roared from the pain. But as much blood was coming out it never went down and it fought back fiercely.

Katie finally managed to get her paws under her and ran for her life. Then she heard yet another loud roar that had her slowing and turning her head to see it come crashing to the white stuff. She skidded to a halt and watched. The silver thing stood on it then ran away at high speed. A speed she had never seen before and knew she stood no chance of ever duplicating.

However, the smell of blood had her stomach growling. With that much blood surely it had to be dead. Still ever so slowly she made her way back until she got a good look at it. Whatever it was was still mostly white but there was so much red. It was ripped open down to various bones. She knew meat when she saw it.

Eventually she was right over it and looking it over. The blood wasn't moving and it wasn't breathing and its eyes were closed. A punch with her paw got her nothing.

Still that black thing was right there and far smaller and easier to carry, so she went over to it. A careful paw had it moving and she saw it was just a skin of something. It was totally hollow.

She turned to look at the big white thing again. It had baited her and she had fallen for it. If it hadn't been for whatever that silver thing was she would be dead and being eaten right now.

Even as scared and hungry as she was she went back over to the big white thing and looked it over. One of its paws looked to be intact so she bit down really hard until her teeth were nice and deep and backed up, trying to pull it with her. All of whatever it was.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Jim and Johanna had made it home through the white stuff and went inside their home. Technically there were a number of buildings just like this one, though all but this one had been destroyed by the time they had found it. There was also a much larger building that likely had several rooms, however it was in much worse shape.

It hadn't taken much to fix this one up as they took parts from the others. Luckily for them they had done this when there was no white stuff on the ground and it was warmer and far more green. They took bits and pieces from everywhere they could. They found sleeping in these things that were above the floor was far more comfortable. A lot of things were in terrible shape and ripped so easily. However, the deeper they dug they found things that were sealed inside much harder things that weren't damaged.

Now they were sleeping on something really soft and they could change out these thin things and wash them in the nearby lake. Until if froze over like it was now. They were also now wearing these similar thin things though a few were really thick and kept them much warmer when it was like this.

It had taken them hours to get back here. They were hunting farther and farther out and feared leaving this area.

First they started with Katie's own space that they had fixed up for her as she got older and older. But she wasn't there so now they were standing in their space and hadn't found her here either.

"I really am going to kill her."Jim was angry, really angry. Though it was mostly his fear for her that was getting to him. If he lost her he was going to lose it.

He stood there fuming. Both of them had shifted back and he heard his mate crying softly. He moved over to her and enveloped her in his arms.

"Jim?" Johanna didn't know what to do. Her baby was out there somewhere and they had just narrowly missed having Jim killed by one of those beasts. What if Katie hadn't been so lucky?

"It's almost dark. We have no choice but to wait for light again." It was going to get too cold for them. They weren't meant for this kind of cold. Somehow Katie with her white and gray colored fur was far more comfortable with it. In fact when she was in that form she complained of the heat when there was no white stuff on the ground.

"Maybe she won't freeze. She does seem to like this period of time unlike us," Jim soothed. Except all Johanna could think to do was hold onto her mate and cry. She had given birth to her and she was so far the only one they had. She greatly feared she was going to be their only one.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Meanwhile Katie had noticed that it was going to be dark soon. At the moment she was resting from dragging whatever this big thing was across the white stuff. She had found it easier when the stuff was a lot harder and far more slippery. Her footing was a bit of a problem but it slid much easier.

Right now her legs were killing her and she was tired. She knew where she was and got another mouthful. She started pulling again and slipped over and over yet again.

She stopped again, afraid she was done. What she really needed was some help so she risked it. This was a lot of meat and thankfully no other predator had caught wind of the blood that was now partly frozen given how cold it had been and was getting.

Katie turned to face where home was, lifted her head, and roared. She roared again and again then waited.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Being inside wasn't going to find Katie so they shifted and went back outside. It was getting cold for them in this form but they could move easier and faster this way. Then they heard a roar. Johanna recognized that sound and while her mate was suddenly running flat out, she lifted her head and roared twice then took off running for all she was worth.

Katie heard two roars in return and knew that voice. It was her mother answering her call. Relieved, she relaxed and waited. A short time later she saw a hint of black and orange moving fast straight for her. She was really happy to see her dad come running flat out right for her.

He came sliding in and almost crashed into her. He couldn't handle the hard white stuff like she could.

Jim was ready to rip her a new one and then spotted what was behind her. He had no idea what it was. It was big, it was white, and it was ripped to shreds. If Katie had done this he had a new appreciation for what she was capable of. But he was still furious with her even if she had brought back a lot of meat.

Her mother soon joined them and Katie rubbed her face against her mother's since she was really happy to see her.

Katie was walking while her father and mother were now doing all the dragging. She was exhausted and more than happy to turn over getting it home to them.

The first task was cutting it up into smaller pieces and getting it into their freezer area where it would freeze and be available for them later. To do this meant shifting and putting on something much warmer then cutting it up using tools they had found in the really big place.

Finally it was all put away and they would get out what they wanted when the light came back. For now everyone was inside Jim and Johanna's space. They were still in this form and taking off the warm stuff which left them all naked.

Katie knew it was coming. "WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING!?" Jim bellowed.

"I didn't want to go that way. It's a long ways and it's hotter and depressing and there wasn't going to be anything out there so I went that way," she pointed.

"It was wrong, Katie, and you know it. What do you think we're going to do when you don't come back because you've gotten yourself killed?" Johanna demanded. The pain of losing her only cub would kill her.

Katie bristled and defended her choice. "There aren't any of those beasts out there so I thought it was safer and that I would find something. _We needed the meat."_

Johanna had to admit that they hadn't seen any of those beasts on the white stuff, only where it was warmer. Plus they had encountered one and had gotten away with finding one and not getting killed and leaving Katie all alone.

"You killed that thing?" Jim was still impressed. Maybe their cub was far more powerful than they thought.

"No, something else did," Katie admitted and told them what happened. "I saw this black spot and I was hunting it just like you taught me. Nice and low and slow. I was almost there when suddenly that thing sprung up out of the white stuff and roared at me. It scared me out of my mind and had me slipping all over the place trying to get away from it when suddenly this silver thing showed up and killed it."

"What silver thing?" Jim asked since he had never seen anything that color before.

"I don't know!" Katie almost yelled at them. She had never seen anything like it before and wasn't sure she ever wanted to see it again. "It was silver-colored and it had holes in it. It had arms and legs and I think a head. It was as big as it was…almost. It didn't seem to have much body to it. Just silver with holes everywhere. It ripped it open in a very short time. Then it stood on it and ran off out into the white stuff. It was really fast, too. Really fast." Katie had no idea why it hadn't killed her but it hadn't.

"We needed the meat so I dragged it all the way home. Oh and I went over to the black thing and found it was just a skin of something. I don't know exactly what it was but it was long since dead. I think that white thing used it as bait to attract me in and kill me looking for food," Katie mentioned.

"Bait. That means whatever it is it's smart," Johanna whispered fearfully.

"Just what we need, another predator to contend with. We didn't see one like that when we first got here. We selected this spot because it got us away from the beast. Made it easier to hunt." Jim looked at his mate who was shaking.

Johanna pleaded with her, "Just don't ever do that again, Katie. You're the only cub I have and I don't want to lose you."

"We hunt as a group, it's safer that way. Splitting up decreases our chances. If you don't want to come with us you can stay here," Jim said sternly and meant it. "Or I can tie you in place to keep you there," he threatened.

Katie knew he was bluffing. He would never do that, but she had done something stupid and gotten away with it this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Life**

_Chapter 2_

Martha walked into her lab and found three others of her team manning various consoles that each had two screens. In the very center of the room was a display of something in 3D. She questioned her team. "How are they doing?"

"They're out hunting again," Gina reported.

Martha was happy for that. "About time. I was beginning to think they wanted to starve to death."

"However, there's a problem already. The first two are headed for the more tropical portion while their cub is headed deeper into the snow," Gina pointed out.

That had Martha sitting down at an empty terminal and bringing it up on her little screen for herself. "Either stupid or brave or they've had a fight and she's angry," Martha suggested and tried to watch both of them.

"So our Bengal tigers are hunting together but their white tiger cub that's almost all grown up now wants to hunt alone. What does she know that her parents don't?" Martha wondered.

"Maybe she's just being an ass," Paula offered.

"Perhaps if you stuck with something constructive instead of shooting your mouth off," Martha fired back and kept watching. Thankfully Paula remained quiet so she didn't have to keep telling her she wasn't being helpful.

Martha found it difficult trying to keep an eye on each group. Finally she'd had enough. "Put the cub on the 3D while everyone watches the parents," Martha called out and got up to watch the white tiger hunt.

Martha didn't know what she was thinking, though maybe… "Give me weather where the cub is located," she requested and watched as the data was added to the 3D display.

"Maybe she just likes this weather better. Maybe it really is that simple. Not bright but simple." Martha kept watching when suddenly she stopped and crouched down.

"So what have you seen?" Martha decided to do a scan. "I've got a hot spot. I want a guard in that area now!" Martha called out as she kept watching.

Martha went back to her original screen and did an intense scan of that area. "Oh, swell. Order the guard to maximum speed, please, or we're going to lose one cub," Martha yelled and went back to the 3D viewer to watch this.

The cub was getting closer and closer and obviously didn't see a thing. "Camouflage," Martha whispered. They had assigned every animal on the planet names and this one was intelligent, loved the cold, and knew how to hunt.

"Faster, faster." Martha willed for their guard to move faster as she turned back to her screen to see where it was and where these two were. "Almost."

Martha turned back to the 3D view and watched as the beast leapt up and scared the cub right out of its paws. Even Martha would be scared of this thing. She wasn't there but she felt her heart rate accelerate and she was afraid.

Just as she was certain they were going to lose someone their guard showed up, ripped it wide open, and killed it. Since it didn't have orders it stood there on top of it.

Martha saw that the cub had seen it happen but that couldn't be helped. She had no way of knowing it was theirs or even just what it was.

"Order it to withdraw. Have it return home," Martha commanded. "On second thought have it travel to the parents just in case. It might be needed again." Martha wasn't sure if any of these three were going to survive.

This trip that had at first held such promise just might end up being a bust. Still she had high hopes for these three. Finding a planet that used to have shifters had been a stroke of luck.

At first it was just another dead planet. It wasn't hard to tell that thousands of years ago the people that had lived there had killed themselves. It had clearly plunged the planet into an ice age that it was still coming out of. Though the planet had managed to clean itself relatively well.

They had found an old dam that had just recently collapsed from lack of maintenance. Scans of that area showed that it had at once produced a fair amount of electricity.

They had found a number of what they were thinking were old fashioned war ships that traveled open oceans. But now they were landlocked very far inland. However, a number of their weapons, while primitive in the extreme, were still a little dangerous if one wasn't careful.

Then they'd stuck gold. There was a building on an island that was still partially intact. It had taken them a few days to gain access to it. Once inside they had found shelving which had partially failed that held thousands of containers made of a cheap plastic. Inside each container were three ply foil packets that all had seeds in them. It was a true gold mine for them. It had seeds that showed what plant life was like on the planet before it inhabitants had killed themselves off. The seeds could be used on a different planet that desperately needed a new ecology.

It had taken them months to dig it all out and transport everything they could find up to their ship. They filled two of their cargo bays with seeds. It had taken months because while they kept the three ply foil packets, those same packets had to go into different containers. It took them time to construct the containers.

While they were doing this they got their first hint that this planet had at one time contained shifters. A life form that could shift between an animal form and a normal form.

Their first attempts at cloning what they had found had been unsuccessful. They just didn't have enough unspoiled DNA to work with to create a viable life form.

But now they knew that there was a planet wide search for more DNA. Hopefully they'd find one stable enough to create a viable life form with. That had taken several more months until finally in a totally separate location they came across some DNA that had been perfectly preserved. Just digging to reach it had taken weeks. While those weeks past they had to search for a location for their life forms to live and grow.

It wasn't just that they had found them, they needed to see if this life form was even worth saving. They needed to see if this life form had anything to do with the death of the planet. They didn't need to save part of a race just to find out they were dangerous not only to themselves but everyone else.

Rick joined them at this time. "Hello, Mother. What happened to her?" Martha still had the young cub up on the 3D viewer.

"She went hunting on her own and almost got herself killed," Martha stated and watched her son watching everything she did.

Martha knew her son had a soft spot for her. He hadn't said anything but he didn't have to. Mothers just knew.

"Is she alright?" Rick watched every move she did and was proud of her that even after a scare she didn't run away after being saved obviously since she stood no chance against that thing.

Then he and Martha watched as she latched onto the dead body and dragged it. "She's not planning to drag that thing all the way home, is she?" Rick wasn't sure she was going to succeed. It was a long ways to drag that much weight home.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"We've got a new problem," Gina called out and switched the 3D from the cub to the parents.

What they saw what was the male in animal form with the female also in animal form a few steps behind him. Not far away was what they had come to learn was this planet's true predator. They both looked to be stalking the same prey.

"Is the guard in position?" Martha asked and she turned to look at her screen to see where it was for herself. Naturally it wasn't there just yet. "Have it speed up moving using the trees." It was the best place to hide. All three of them had their attention on the ground.

The male tiger was closer and yet they all watched as the other predator jumped. Martha was all set to yell to have the guard intercept it and kill it. However, instead of jumping for the male it jumped for the prey.

"It was safer to kill the prey than to kill the tiger," Rick commented as he was watching it all now since he was concerned. If the adults were killed it would leave their cub all alone and that was something he didn't want to happen to her.

They watched as each side looked at the other. Then the male and the female quickly retreated; it looked like they were going to have to go hungry.

They watched the adults all the way home. Rick, though, was watching the cub dragging the dead body toward home. She would stop and rest for a moment before moving again.

Finally she was close and now they all watched as she roared to call for help.

Now they were all watching as the adults were dragging it home while the cub walked. Then they listened and watched as the cub explained herself.

They had eyes everywhere so they could keep tabs on them at all times. That included now when all three of them were talking while after having just shifted and standing there naked in their non-animal form.

They still didn't have a name for them save for the names they had given each of them. They had no idea what this race called itself save for learning what a tiger was. Though they did have a team on the planet trying to find more DNA or anything that would explain exactly what had happened here.

Martha was happy. Their creations weren't dead and they had meat to last them for a while. They had even worked out how to preserve it in the cold weather. But they didn't have a way to preserve it when it wasn't cold. It was what was forcing them to hunt farther and farther out since they needed to hunt more often.

Martha also noticed that her son only had eyes for the cub as she stood there naked talking to her parents. She was now even more convinced that her son had a thing for her. She just didn't know what to do about it.

However, now that they were all home and safe for now, she didn't need all of them in the lab. "Okay, it's over. Everyone out, get something to eat, and get some sleep. They aren't likely to go anywhere for a few days." They had learned that during winter they tended not to go out looking and searching. They only did that when it wasn't winter so far.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Rick had his supper and was sitting alone until suddenly Gina sat across from him. "You want to do something after this?" Gina wasn't willing to take no for an answer.

"Besides getting some sleep, no," Rick told her for the umpteenth time.

Gina was getting tired of the word, _"No."_ She also wasn't blind and was quite aware that he always had eyes for the naked cub. Gina had decided it was time to be more forceful if she was going to get what she wanted. "Rick, at least I'm the same race as you. I'm not evil and we could be good together."

"I'm not interested, Gina. I thought I had made that clear to you already," Rick said evenly and kept eating.

"She's just a project, Rick. Once we're done learning all we want or can we'll be leaving." Gina didn't know that but if a lie helped her she would use it.

"Mother's in charge here, not you. You may have volunteered for this assignment but that doesn't mean you have a voice in it," Rick reminded her and then decided to use something more forceful to make himself clear.

"If I find out that she dies and you were involved with even a tiny piece of it I will space you and not blink an eye. Do I make myself clear? I'm not interested in you in any way, shape, or form. You simply work here and that's it." Rick picked up his tray and moved to a different table farther away from Gina.

All that did was make Gina furious with him. Why was he being so damned stubborn? She was better looking. Had a much better body, even if he hadn't seen much of it to compare with than her. Maybe that was what he needed to see. Maybe if he saw her naked like he saw the cub naked maybe he would finally see. Now she just needed a plan to accomplish that. Besides that cub had hair everywhere so what did he see in that?

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

But forces outside of Martha's control were conspiring against her and her project. Granted the transfer of all the seeds that could be salvaged had already taken place. It was just over the last year they had been here they were monitoring a new problem.

"Captain Bowe!" One of his officers got his attention and Bowe stepped over to join her. "It has suddenly accelerated. We only have days or perhaps even hours if it maintains this rate."

Bowe growled. It might be Martha's project but this was his ship. Yes, they were supplied for a long stay and had over a year of supplies left to go before they would have to retreat.

"Communications, have Martha Rodgers report to the Bridge immediately. Then inform our people on the planet doing searches that they need to be ready to pull out or get left behind and suffer the consequences," Bowe called out and headed back to his chair.

He just knew what Martha was going to say. But unless she had a death wish, she had little choice.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Martha entered the Bridge and saw Captain Bowe. "You wanted to see me?" They talked all the time. Maybe his team had found something for her team to work on in addition to what they were already doing.

"This way, Professor." Bowe took her over to a station. "This is our latest scan. We knew about a year ago that this system's sun was possibly going nova. However, based on our most recent scan that timeline has been reduced to days. If it doesn't slow down we're going to have just hours. You need to think about ending your project. You may not have much time." Captain Bowe showed her the data.

"We can't do something about it?" She needed more time. Yes, the cub was almost into her 20s thanks to them messing with her DNA a little and forcing her to grow up faster. But that time was ending soon and they needed to see what she and her parents did once that happened.

"We're advanced, Professor but we're not that advanced. I can make it blow up faster if I had the right equipment, but I can't slow it down. When that sun goes it'll take us with it. Our shields will not be able to keep out that kind of power. We need to be gone before that wave hits us. Unless you have a death wish?"

Martha sighed. All this time only to have a stupid sun not be able to hold itself together long enough for them to complete the project.

"I'll inform my staff. Keep me apprised. We need to stay here as long as possible." She wasn't certain if they were going to have the time they needed. She needed something more like months instead of days or even less.

"We have a team on the ground. They've been informed to pull out on a moment's notice. I want to help you, Professor, but it's out of my hands." He watched Martha walk away and head for her team.

"Keep both eyes on that sun. It so much as burps I want to know about it," Bowe ordered and retreated to his chair.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Martha gathered her team in the lab that they used to create and monitor their subjects. "I was just informed that this system's sun may go nova a lot sooner than we originally thought. It might be days or even hours. Make sure you record everything we have and secure it." She hated it but it was out of her hands.

Martha noticed that neither Gina nor Paula looked all that upset. Yes, they'd been living on this ship for a number of years but it wasn't exactly a cruise ship. There wasn't a whole lot to do on it. It was mostly a work ship and didn't have that many conveniences.

Her son looked like she had just stabbed him in the heart. It only confirmed what she had feared. He was stuck on the cub. She just couldn't easily fix a heart that was about to be broken.

Martha also wasn't surprised when he suddenly left them. She was betting he was headed for his room to take out his anger on the walls with his fists.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"Captain, someone just launched a shuttle," an officer called out which had the captain jumping out of his chair so he could see what his officer saw.

"Communications, raise them and order them to return to the ship," Bowe ordered. He stood there watching it. "Isn't that where our tigers are located?" Now he was angry. "Order Professor Rodgers to the bridge." He was going to give her a piece of his mind.

He watched the shuttle land then saw Martha enter his bridge. "If you ordered a shuttle to be launched I'll have you confined to your quarters for the entire trip home. What happens to you after that isn't up to me." He was damn well going to make sure someone found out about this.

"I did no such thing! Gina and Paula were with me until I was called up here. My son should be in his quarters." Of course she hadn't checked on that but that was where she was betting his was. At least until now.

Martha knew where the communications station was located and walked over there. "Raise them, order them to return."

"I've been trying. They're ignoring me or the system is off," Martha was told.

"Where is it?" Martha inquired.

"Sitting just outside of the compound where your project lives," Captain Bowe said.

"Oh, Richard." She was going to have his ass for this.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Rick, meanwhile, was busy. He knew how to handle a shuttle handily enough and where the compound was located. Once he landed he picked up a stunner and headed for the building the adults used. Opening it he counted himself lucky. All three of them were in there eating.

Three quick shots later and he was carrying their unconscious bodies to the shuttle one at a time starting with the cub. He was not leaving them here to be killed by a supernova. Only the adults were clones. The cub, though, was not.

Besides they needed to go through medical to determine if being clones had in any way proven to be detrimental to their long term health. And his heart wasn't willing to let the cub just die. Screw what Gina wanted or thought should be happening between them.

They were all shifters after all. That was why they were here in the first place. This system's sun was just speeding things up, was all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Life**

_Chapter 3_

Captain Bowe was furious. Someone had taken a shuttle off his ship without permission. Then they had used it to retrieve three individuals from an alien planet and had managed to get them into his Medical bay.

"GUARDS! Arrest him." Bowe pointed at Rick.

"Now wait just a minute." Martha was angry at him too but arresting him? She didn't see the need.

"This is not a civilian ship, Professor. You may be in charge of the project but this is my ship and your son illegally commandeered a shuttle from this ship and illegally went down to a protected planet. Worse he brought back three life forms from an alien planet without clearance. Then he issued orders that my crew shouldn't have obeyed and brought these three to Medical. Those people are also going to be facing discipline," Bowe informed both of them. "I can guarantee that!" He glared at Rick.

Those men and women were now in trouble because of him. "Get him out of my sight and throw him in the Brig," Captain Bowe ordered. Everyone watched the two guards bind his arms, remove him from Medical, and escort him to the Brig.

Problem was he didn't know what to do with these three. They were here now and while he could order them sent back down. He just didn't know. Then he heard a whistle that had him moving to a communication panel. "Captain Bowe."

"Captain, the sun has accelerated its time table. We're now down to hours and decreasing fast."

That sealed a number of things. "Order everyone off the planet and back to the ship. Once everyone's on board set a course for station Stellaris and get us into FTL. Half speed for now." He ended the communication after getting it repeated back to him.

Now he was back to these three. It looked like they would be staying. Likely just what Rick was trying to accomplish. "Put these three in one of the isolation rooms for now. Then start running tests on them. If they just spread a contagion on my ship…" Someone was going to pay for it big time.

"Captain," Martha ceased speaking when she saw the look he was giving her. Her son had done something stupid and now she was being lumped into what he had done.

"Isolation, NOW!" Then he walked toward the door.

"I'm afraid you'll have to remain here, Captain. If it's as you fear this part of the Medical bay just went into quarantine. I can't have you spreading it throughout the ship or giving it to the Bridge crew," Doctor Hall informed him. Hall walked over to his terminal and activated the quarantine protocol for this room. Then he had to order the corridor from the shuttle bay and the bay itself be sealed to place those areas in quarantine.

"Professor!" He was placing all the blame on Martha since she was here and not a member of his crew.

"We follow procedure, that's all we can do now." Martha couldn't undo what had been done.

Then Bowe heard the whistle again and went to the panel to answer it. "Captain Bowe."

"We are in FTL and on course for station Stellaris," he was told. Only he was no longer in charge.

"I'm trapped in quarantine in Medical. Per regulations the First Officer is now in charge. Order him to report to the bridge and assume command." He could no longer tell the Bridge what to do even if he did want to.

He went over to the doctor as they both saw Martha help his two nurses that were on duty with him place the three from the planet into an isolation room. The primary problem with the room was that it only had the one bed. It wasn't meant for more than one person but now it was going to have three. Granted they had three isolation rooms side by side, but Martha talked them into putting all three in the same room so as not to scare the shit out of them more than was necessary.

"Seal the door and lock it," Bowe ordered and watched the nurses close it and lock it. It sealed automatically.

Then he saw the doctor go to his terminal and order team two to suit up in hazmat suits and search the shuttle bay and the sealed corridors for anything.

"Hop up, Captain, you're now a patient." Doctor Webb patted a medical bed. "Take the other bed, Professor. Nurse Ree will tend to you. Nurse Adiru will tend to our three guests in the isolation room. Let's find out if they brought anything back with them and decided to share."

"OH, SHIT!" He hustled to his terminal. "Bridge, this is Doctor Hall. Place the corridors between Medical and the Brig into quarantine. Seal those decks and find all of the crew that might have traveled those decks and lock them in holding. Their quarters, the Brig, anywhere. Do it now!" He couldn't believe this shit.

Captain Bowe was following what the doctor was thinking. "Great! Professor, I'll have your son's head if the doctor finds anything." He was beyond angry now, he was furious and someone was going to pay for all this. "Doctor, have the bridge institute quarantine procedures. Even after we arrive at station Stellaris we need to remain in quarantine."

Captain Bowe listened to the doctor do as he asked. Now they were flying in a quarantined ship in FTL headed for a very large station that orbited a planet. The station itself had hundreds of thousands of people on it. The planet held millions more. If they had something they would be held short of both and forced to wait.

Captain Bowe remained quiet and let the doctor do his job. He technically wasn't the captain of his own ship any longer. He was ready to skin the professor's son alive for this.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"Our guests are waking up," Nurse Adiru announced as the doctor and the other nurse were still working.

Another problem was that while they were in quarantine Doctor Webb was also out of command over any other medical conditions. Worse they didn't have another medical area. If something happened that required medical work it was going to have to take place outside of this space.

"Just try and keep them calm. Connect the communications system to the translator and don't tell them anything. They're going to be scared enough as it is." They weren't on the planet or in the room they knew all their lives. The adults had grown up fast as intended just like their child had until they each reached a certain age in less than half the normal time. At that point they would all age normally.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Katie was the first to awake and she found herself on a floor. But it wasn't a floor she was used to seeing or feeling since as she moved to get it felt different to her hands. Her parents on the floor with her so she crawled over to them and tried to wake them. One at a time she managed to get them awake.

Johanna checked her daughter over and didn't see anything wrong with her. "Where are we?" Jim didn't recognize anything. The colors were all way off and the ceiling had places that had a glow to them that he had never seen before. Getting up showed him something he had never seen before. He was soon joined by his mate and his cub. All three of them slowly moved toward it. It was an opening into a room that was totally weird looking.

There was a female that didn't look anything like them standing there looking at them. Her hands were on something. She had really long hair, was wearing something maybe or she was mostly white with a black front and black legs about half way up.

Then as they walked closer to her they hit something that couldn't be seen. Each of them ran their hands over it. Then they all heard a voice.

"Just relax, no one is going to hurt you. We just need to make sure that you are not sick." They even saw her mouth move but the words didn't seem to come from her. "The glass doors are closed for your safety. Please relax and remain calm. We will not hurt you," the voice told them again.

All three of them ran their hands over this invisible barrier. It had lettering on it and it was really smooth. Beyond this there was a there was a floor that was the same color as three of their walls and the floor and the ceiling. However, there also were a few white stripes.

Katie was far to one side so she tried to look the opposite direction. Down that way she saw something she couldn't describe. It was short, mostly white, and it had these square things on top of it. Directly in front of them there were four beds that two of them had people lying on them with two people standing next to them. The ones standing looked a lot like the person just the other side of this invisible wall.

"What's going on?" Johanna questioned as she looked everywhere.

"I have no idea. Anyone remember how we got here?" Maybe that would help. Except both of them were shaking their heads.

"Can you tell me how you feel? Do you feel tired? Does anything hurt? How is your breathing?" the voice asked.

Instead of answering her questions Jim asked one of his own, or two actually. "Where are we and who are you?"

"You are in our Medical bay on our ship. We are trying to determine if you are sick in anyway. My name is Nurse Adiru. That is Doctor Webb, Nurse Ree, Professor Rodgers, and Captain Bowe. You are perfectly safe, however, I need you to answer my questions, please," Nurse Adiru tried again.

But that didn't help any of them. They had no idea what a Medical bay was or what a ship was. Who were these people? They didn't look anything like them. Three of them looked similar to each other, but the other two didn't look anything like those three.

As they looked them over they saw that all of them had really long hair flowing off their heads and it was all perfectly straight. Unlike Katie's whose was long but curly and why was Jim the only one who had hair on his face?

"Who are you people?" They looked like people even if they were different. "What's with the hair and those ears?" Johanna tried. She had also spotted that all of them had pointed ears under all that long straight hair. Her own hair was also long as was Jim's but her hair was curly like Katie's.

Instead of answering her questions she heard, "Tell me how you feel? Do you feel dizzy? Does any part of you hurt?"

"No," Katie answered.

"Thank you. Can I get one of you to lie down on the bed, please? It won't hurt and it will help me a lot. Please?" Nurse Adiru tried an enticement to get them to do what she wanted. "I can provide you with food and water if you will help me."

"Food?" Katie looked at her parents. She shrugged and lay down on the blue bed. Suddenly something lit up just above and behind her head. Jim and Johanna saw it as well.

"Thank you, it won't hurt you." The nurse instantly looked her over and recorded everything. She noticed that her heart rate and blood pressure were rather high. "You can calm down. Nothing is wrong and you are fine. I promise."

Johanna took Katie's hand in one of hers and asked how she felt. "Fine, Mom. It's even comfortable. But what's with the lights?" Katie tried to see what was above and behind her head.

"I'm trying to find out just how you are feeling. Just relax, this is going to take some time," the nurse told them.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"How are we doing, doctor?" Captain Bowe was ready for some answers.

"So far you're clean. Some of your readings are elevated but that can be attributed to the current circumstances. I'm still awaiting some bloodwork results but so far I'm not finding anything. While I wait for the results I'm going to leave you lying here and check to see if anything's airborne." The doctor nodded and turned away.

What he really wanted to ask was what was happening to his ship. But it wasn't his ship any longer thanks to the professor's son who he was still going to skin alive later. He was trapped in a quarantine area. Quarantine regulations meant anything he said would be ignored no matter what he said or did.

He moaned as he lay there doing nothing. He'd been paying attention to what the nurse was saying and doing to the professor's project life forms. They didn't even have a word for them. Hell, he didn't even know if the system's sun had gone nova yet. Though since they were supposed to be in FTL they should be safe.

The only good thing he was getting out of all this was that there were no alarms sounding anywhere for any reason. It meant so far his ship, that now wasn't his ship, wasn't in danger.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Jim and Johanna suddenly saw something slide open. "Thank you for your help," said the voice. Looking inside it they found something that looked like food but it was in shapes that it shouldn't be. However it smelled like food.

"I think you can get up, Katie," Johanna said as Jim reached in and took something out, smelling it before tasting it.

"It is good to eat. We are trying to help," the voice told them.

At first they only tasted it and waited. When nothing happened they ate it until all of it was gone. They were used to drinking from something but these were different. It almost fell apart in their hands and once all the water was gone, they did just that.

"Well at least we won't starve," Katie noted. "Just what are they doing, though?" She had laid on the bed and those lights came on. Other than that she hadn't felt a thing just like the voice had told them.

"I don't know, Katie." Johanna turned to see her mate standing at the invisible wall. Only this time he wasn't running his hands over it. Johanna joined him. "What are you thinking?"

"We're different from them. They look different from us. Yet look at those two." He pointed out the two that were laying down. The primary difference between Katie and those two was that there was this big thing hovering over them and someone was standing in front of something next to them.

"They look fine to me." Johanna didn't see any blood and their bodies, at least from here, didn't look damaged.

They watched the one that was just the other side of the invisible wall walk away and go behind this large area that had three large squares on it. Then that person – they were both guessing it was a female since it looked like she had breasts – sat down and disappeared from sight.

"What's going on, Jim?" Johanna didn't get it.

"I think they're sick, Mom. They think _we__'__re_ sick. The voice said they were trying to help. Help with what, though?" Katie was puzzled. Both Jim and Johanna nodded. It made sense to them.

"Why is it just those two?" Jim wondered. "There are more of those sleeping places." He pointed at the beds further down. "See this thing just outside?" Jim ended up hitting the invisible wall with his finger. "There's another one of those just over there." He pointed at a space next to them that he could just barely see.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Jim, Johanna, and Katie didn't know how long it had been. There had been one surprise. Katie had complained that she needed to pee. That had resulted in seeing something slide out of the wall. At the bottom there was a hole. But it was perfect to sit on. The voice had told them they could sit on it and do whatever they needed to do. When Kate stood back up after peeing, it slid back into the wall, and vanished.

"This is a really weird place," Katie commented as she ran her hand over the wall where it had slid out and barely felt anything at all. Instead of sitting on the floor she chose to sit on the bed and watched as the wall again lit up instantly. She ran her fingers over the panel and found that this area felt similar to the invisible wall. There were also markings all over it that she didn't understand.

Suddenly the voice was back. "Do you understand what it says?"

"What?" Katie looked at the ceiling since that was where the voice seemed to be coming from. "No."

"Katie!?" Johanna was next to her instantly since she didn't trust these people or know what her cub was doing.

"I'm fine, Mom, it doesn't hurt." Katie kept running her fingers over all the lights. Then the voice started talking again. It talked about heart rate, blood pressure and a number of other things. None of which made any sense to any of them.

"We're trying to find out if you're sick and have accidentally made any of us sick. Once we determine that you're safe you'll be released and given a room to live in until we get home," the voice said. Provided that they didn't get home first before they figured that out first.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

His nurses were gathering information but it was mostly up to Doctor Hall to review everything they had gathered for him to look at. Thanks to quarantine procedures they were their own little group. What the medical teams were doing outside of this area wasn't being transmitted to him or his nurses.

Thankfully the ship was a standard fleet sized ship so while it did have only the one medical bay, it did have three much smaller first aid bays. They were only meant to handle one person at a time and had limited capabilities, but it was better than nothing.

Also thanks to quarantine procedures all of them were in the dark as to what else was happening on the ship.

It had been hours and while Captain Bowe hadn't meant to he had fallen asleep for a short time and woke up to find himself right where he had been, in a bed. However the panel above him had been retracted into the wall. He only saw one of the nurses. "Where's Doctor Hall?" The nurse merely pointed. He swung his legs over the side. He also took a peek at their three uninvited guests. One was on the bed and the other two were on the floor. All three were still naked but he ignored that.

He saw the other nurse was sitting in a chair eating and found the doctor in a small room pulling food from a cabinet and heating it up. The professor was still lying on her bed and looked to be asleep.

"How we doing, Doctor?" Bowe was ready for some answers.

"So far everyone's clean, though we haven't even started on ourselves." The doctor and the nurses were concentrating their efforts on their patients, not on themselves. "I still have a number of tests to complete and two of those are going to take the computer a few hours. …OW! Hot, hot, hot!" Great. Now he'd just burnt his fingers.

"We're getting punchy and need some sleep soon. We can't afford to miss something because we're tired." Doctor Hall also knew that in this room he was still in charge even in a quarantine situation.

Captain Bowe knew what he wanted to do and that was to get back on his Bridge. However he also knew the doctor was correct. His first officer was in overall command outside of this room and the doctor was in charge of this room. Plus he had just shown that he was tired.

'How many hours have we been in here?" He had fallen asleep so no longer knew.

"Twelve, Captain," the nurse replied.

Bowe tried to go over what options he had, if any. "It's six days to reach the station. We can't talk to anyone while in FTL and there's no reason for us to exit FTL to contact the station before reaching the area. Though quarantine regulations dictate that we exit FTL on the edge of the system and announce that we're in quarantine if we still are when we get there. We will then be held and guarded to make sure we stay there."

Bowe looked at the doctor. "How much food do we have?" Was what they had all they were going to get?

"Eight days for this many people. All right here." He tapped one of the doors right in front of him. There were eight storage bays that held the food. There was an oven to heat them up and a sink to dispense water. "That isolation chamber has the same amount but those eight days are meant for just one person. There are another eight days in the two isolation chambers that aren't being used, though," Doctor Hall pointed out.

"Guess we decide when or if that time comes," the captain commented.

"Captain?" Martha was awake and up and had been listening.

"Professor?" He wasn't really angry at her. She just happened to be closest and related to the man who had done this.

"I'm sorry for what my son has done, however, I do have a theory on just why," Martha offered if he was willing to listen.

He wasn't sure he wanted to hear it, but if it made sense it would take it into account. "I'm listening, Professor."

"I'm pretty sure that my son has a thing for the cub of the two adults. He and all of us have spent months, years watching these three and have seen them naked most of the time." Martha said.

Captain Bowe moaned and let his head fall to his chest. They were in this mess because her son had a crush on a naked woman who he had only been allowed to watch all this time.

"He probably feared that we would leave them behind to their fate when the system's sun went nova." Martha would have argued against that. They had the capability of picking them up and transferring them to these isolation wards they were in now and not break quarantine. The captain might have even let her do just that. But that time had come and gone.

Martha added, "There's one more thing. I may be the professor in charge of this project but I'm also his mother. I'm pretty sure Gina, one of my staff, has her own thing for my son. If and this is a big if, she had pressured him into being a couple and he wasn't interested, he would have feared she would interfere with his crush. I can see him doing what he did."

"And we're stuck in here with no way to talk to anyone or get anyone to even investigate if you're correct." Captain Bowe could see it. "Okay, I won't skin him alive when I get out of here. But he's still in really big trouble. We're in quarantine and even if nothing comes from it…" Captain Bowe didn't know what would happen but it wasn't going to be good for her son or ultimately for himself. He was the captain of this ship and he had allowed it to happen even if he didn't know it was going to happen. He was in charge so it fell ultimately to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Life**

_Chapter 4_

_It is now four days later_

They still had a few days to reach home and things had mostly returned to normal. Captain Bowe was back on his bridge and back in command of his ship.

The doctor had found nothing. Their guests were out of isolation and had been given their own quarters behind a locked door this morning.

Martha had argued to have her son released since nothing had come of it. But she had lost. Rick hadn't exactly stolen given that he had returned it. However, he had taken it without authority. Also his three crew members that had helped him were going to receive official reprimands once they got home.

Captain Bowe was leaving it to his first officer and the ship's counselor to interrogate Gina Cowel to determine just how much she was involved in this mess.

At the moment she was sitting in the security area stewing as his first officer and the counselor reported what they had learned to their captain.

"She's denying that she at any time pressed Richard Rodgers for the two of them become a couple let alone explaining why she would want to do such a thing," his first officer informed him. "It's also totally opposite of what Richard Rodgers has told us."

"Not unexpected. So which one is lying?" Captain Bowe queried.

"She is, Captain," the counselor said. "We question her and each time she's lying she provides very obvious signs that she _is _ lying. She delays her response before she answers a question. On occasion there is verbal and non-verbal disconnect. She will occasionally hide her mouth or avert her eyes. She has swallowed once. She eventually removed her hands from sight and fidgeted with them. Finally she has more than once groomed her long hair.

"No question, Gina Cowel is lying. Just not all the time. She clearly sees the young cub that we have learned is called Katie by her parents as a threat to her and the two of them becoming a couple."

"And Richard Rodgers?" Captain Bowe inquired.

"He feared greatly that we were going to leave them behind and let them die when their sun went nova," his first officer replied.

"He does see himself as being in love with Katie. Despite all the hair she has everywhere which is not normal for our race, he's somehow able to see past that. I get the impression that he wants to teach her. Though true and real love may be overstating it a bit. He clearly has a crush on her even if he's too old for such things. Still he cares," the ship's counselor reported.

"We haven't as yet talked with Professor Rodgers if her plan was to leave them behind. Last I knew we hadn't discussed what we were going to do, given that we knew their sun was going to go supernova. Even if it did sneak up on us," the first officer pointed out.

"That uncertainty obviously played a part in what Richard Rodgers was thinking. In the end we do have three more shifters that also happen to be aliens. I can see why Professor Rodgers gained approval for this project. Up until now we had thought we were all alone," the counselor noted.

"That still leaves us with what we do with these two. And we still need to interview Professor Rodgers. It doesn't sound like she had any prior knowledge of what her son was going to do. However, she did know about Gina Cowel, even if she might not have anticipated where that knowledge would take her son," the first officer said.

Captain Bowe took in a deep breath and let it out. He did have a problem. None of them were within his ultimate jurisdiction once they reached home. Until then they all were.

"Confine Gina and Richard to their cabins until we reach the station and are cleared to disembark. We still need to convince the authorities that we are indeed clean and no longer under quarantine. What they do with both of them, Professor Rodgers, and our three guests after we arrive will be up to them.

"For now arrange shore leave for the crew and complete your interview with Professor Rodgers. We'll give all of it to the authorities so they can decide what they want to do. I will add my own notation to the report," Captain Bowe told both of them.

"All this because one female had designs on one of Professor Rodgers staff and a sun that wanted to die ahead of schedule." Bowe shook his head. "Who would have guessed." He ignored that his own words in a way helped to clear Martha from not saying what she suspected. However, she had failed to maintain control over her own staff.

"Dismissed." They all left the conference room just off of the Bridge. Captain Bowe went back to his Bridge while his first officer and the ship's counselor went off to interrogate Martha Rodgers. He still had to decide suitable punishment for members of his own crew that had helped Richard Rodgers with their three guests. He couldn't overlook their actions.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"Do either of you have any ideas on just where we are now? Jim was so lost. First they were hoe in a place that at least they knew something about. It had been cold and all this white stuff had fallen yet again. But at least there had been this bright yellow glow until it went down and was replaced by a white one that was far less bright, though it kept changing from barely there to all there.

Next they were in this tiny room with an invisible wall that had light until it suddenly totally went away. There was this voice that kept talking to them and asking them questions. Plus the food was really different.

Now they were in a different small room that had two beds stacked on top of each other on each side. There was their own separate room that they had worked out was meant to be used to relieve yourself in and on. And there was this small space that sprayed water that disappeared into the floor.

Three times a day this lady that looked totally different from any of those in that room with the invisible wall arrived and left behind food and drink. It was even hot and tasted amazing.

These beds were so much better than that one with the invisible wall had ever been. But every time they tried to go out the space she came in with food through, it never opened for them. They were effectively trapped yet again. In addition the temperature never changed here. It was really weird.

"I have no idea Jim. None at all." Johanna didn't know where to start or to even try.

"Well don't look at me. That voice did say we were safe here and they wouldn't hurt us." It was all Katie could offer.

"So where are we?" Jim asked again not really expecting an answer.

Then the noise they knew well now sounded and the wall opened and she was back with more food and water. "Have you tried taking a shower?" She had been tasked to do this and while she didn't mind helping, these people stank to high heaven.

"Follow me." She motioned for them to come with her into the bathroom and went over to the shower. She turned on the water then demonstrated how to take a shower without actually getting into the shower. "Try it, please, and put on your clothes." She picked up the clothes that had migrated into this room somehow and demonstrated how to put on what was basically a coverall. "Please." She left them and exited the same way she got in.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Katie had tried it and came out of the bathroom to join her parents. She was actually clean. She felt really different and was even wearing those coveralls.

Johanna reached her first and sniffed her. "Is this what that thing did?" She didn't smell like her Katie any longer. There was something that had taken its place. It was soft and sweet smelling.

"I feel different," Katie announced and couldn't resist. "Can you two use it too, please? You two stink." She held her nose closed. Suddenly her parents stank up the place.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Johanna went first and felt like she never had before. They had gotten wet and washed off mud when it was warm out, but they hadn't really used anything except their hands.

Now she was pushing her mate into the shower since like Katie had said, he stank and she didn't want to be anywhere near him smelling like this.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

The wall opened again the next day and in walked the same person with more food and drink. This time she breathed in deeply and liked what she smelled for a change. "Thank you!" She even hugged Katie before leaving.

Katie smiled then her parents were smiling as well. They had obviously done something right.

She was back again much later and left more food. She didn't have a translator on her so she couldn't tell them they were be arriving home tomorrow so she simply left them alone.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Martha had been banned from interacting with her own project and she was going to file a formal complaint against Captain Bowe with they arrived. She didn't think anything was going to happen with it but the thought made her feel better.

It wasn't until they had docked with the station one day after arriving while they decided if their ship had indeed cleared quarantine that Martha was finally allowed to monitor her project being transferred from their room to a shuttle. She hated that they were alone again and probably scared and tired of all this.

Martha hadn't even been allowed to talk to her son. Right now she just wanted to make sure he was okay. She would remove his ass later when she bent his ear.

Paula had joined her and they both watched as Gina was taken away. "Where are they taking her?" Paula asked. She hadn't been locked in her room but no one talked to her, either.

"I'm not entirely sure. I think she has designs on my son and that's why we had so much adventure just before we left the planet and then well after. I don't think she's in too much trouble, but I don't think they want her talking to anyone. Likely why I can't even get to my own son." Martha understood it but that didn't mean she liked it.

What she didn't know was what was going to happen next or how she was going to regain control of her project. Or what was going to happen to them.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

_It is now one week later_

Rick had found himself locked in yet another room. However, this time he wasn't on the ship and was away from the ship's captain who was really angry at him.

Each and every day he was taken to a conference room where he was asked questions. More often than not he was asked the same questions as a couple of days ago. Trying to get him to slip up and tell them something different.

Now he was standing next to his mother who he hadn't seen or been allowed to talk to in what felt like weeks. "I'm sorry, Mother." He knew they would be angry for what he was doing when he did it. Just not this angry.

"It's not over yet, Richard. I've tried to talk them out of it but they are so very angry at you," Martha warned him. "They don't think they'll ever adapt to living here. Based on what we know their knowledge of anything is limited. We can start training them and teaching them but they're never going to fit into our modern society," Martha warned him again.

"Think about it. What if they live on the habitat ring that's around the planet that houses thousands of us. What are they going to think when they look out and see our home planet instead of what they're used to seeing? How do they feed themselves? Us feeding them until they die of old age isn't in the budget.

"Living on our home planet is also out. Just think about how we get around. Then add in that they don't speak our language and unless everyone everywhere wears translation devices they're never going to understand a word we say," Martha pointed out.

Rick had been slumping further and further as his mother talked. It was sounding more and more like these three, especially Katie, were going to suffer horribly. This wasn't why he had rescued them. To be honest, he hadn't really thought at all when he'd stolen a shuttle and gone down to the planet to rescue them. He just hadn't wanted them to die and especially not Katie.

"So what happens to them?" They couldn't go back since their planet was gone and their race weren't that kind of murderers.

Martha did give him credit. He was more interested in them and not himself. He was guilty and he wasn't asking about what would happen to him.

"Etheria for all of you," Martha told him.

"A farming planet." He could see that, maybe. It didn't have all the technology this planet did. It didn't have all the distractions and it was reputed to be a simpler way of life. At least what little he knew about the planet. Mostly just farms with a limited number of cities. Transportation was limited. There were only the three space ports for imports and exports. Meaning everything in or out could be controlled. It helped prevent an invasive species from jumping from one planet to another. Also all the produce was carefully cleaned before transit.

WAIT! His mother had said something. "All?" If she meant what he thought she did, he rather liked the idea. He hadn't just saved them so they wouldn't be killed. He had saved Katie because he had wanted to.

"Your punishment is two years on Etheria for commandeering a shuttle without permission. Transporting aliens from the planet to the ship. For forcing the ship to go into quarantine and don't begin to tell me you didn't think about that." Her son wasn't that stupid, hopefully.

Unfortunately Rick hadn't really thought about any of that. He had been focused on just the one thing. His mother ever learned that and she just might disown him.

"A farmer has agreed to take the four of you as free labor for two years. Try not to screw this up, Richard. The alternatives, if this doesn't work, are less pleasant. Maybe you'll learn to like farming. Instead of following in my footsteps maybe you'll strike out on your own. I might even get some grandchildren out of this." Martha went for a little humor.

"Funny, Mother. When?" Meaning just how long did he have before leaving.

"You get to come home and pack. Then take it all to the space port for Etheria. Those three are already back in Medical. For the colonists to not reject them on sight they're being cleaned up." Martha could only begin to think of the trauma that was going to cause.

"Meaning?" Rick wasn't sure what she meant by being cleaned. They had already been cleared by the medical team on the ship.

"Every hair that isn't required while in this form is being removed with lasers. Naturally when they shift those hairs will still exist. However, when they shift back the only hair they'll have will be the hair our culture finds acceptable."

"Oh." Oh boy! was more like it. Rick had seen just how much hair each of them had since they didn't know different and didn't have the technology to remove it. Well at least he was going to get to see Katie without all that hair. Maybe she would be even prettier.

"The university has agreed to purchase the required clothes for the three of them. You're going to need to go shopping for yours. You're going to need something suitable for a farm," Martha informed him.

"After two years you'll get to move to Melmac when it's completed. If you like farming, that is." They both knew Melmac was a moon that had been undergoing terraforming for years and years. It was actually getting pretty close to being ready. It would be another farming planet much like Etheria was now.

"Looks like I don't have a choice, do I?" Rick knew they would be angry. Just not this angry.

"I'm afraid not, Richard. The university has some pull but not that much. What you did was stupid and rash. We could have talked the captain into bringing them up to the ship and placing them in quarantine safely. Instead you put the entire ship in quarantine and put the entire ship at risk." Martha wasn't happy with him, either.

"I'm sorry." He had screwed up and was just now finding out just how badly.

"Let's go shopping and get you packed. Maybe we can find an item or two for your three new friends since you're going to get to know them really well over the next two years." Unless she traveled there to see them, she wasn't going to be seeing her own son for two years.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"MOM!" Katie was awake and saw that she didn't look anything like herself. Everything was changed. What was worse was that she had found a wall that had taken a little getting used to. It showed her what she looked like now and she hated it with a passion.

However, her mother stepped up next to her and looked just like her. "Different, isn't it." Johanna had already seen herself and what she looked like now. Now she was twisting around to get a better look again.

"DIFFERENT!?" That wasn't the word Katie was thinking of. "I'M UGLY!" That was more the word she was thinking of. Except for the hair on her head she didn't have a hair anywhere else on her body and even that hair had been trimmed way back.

"Have you tried shifting to see then shifting back?" Johanna had and had learned something that obviously Katie hadn't yet.

"No." She hadn't gotten that far. "OH, NO! Please say I'm not." Katie chose that moment to scream out her frustration with this new development. If she was that ugly she was going to kill herself.

"Just try it and stop screaming in my ear." Her cub was overreacting. Yes it was bad but they weren't dead and they still smelled pretty good, actually.

Katie was still moaning and scared. What if she didn't have any hair in either form? She might as well put an end to herself. She had liked disappearing in that white stuff thanks to what she looked like. She thought it gave her an edge when hunting.

"Just do it, Katie." Johanna had heard enough already. Jim was still missing but she was betting he would look different when he showed up. Provided she recognized him when he did. What if he was as hairless as they were?

Katie was still moaning when she finally shifted and looked at herself in the reflection wall. Then she was twisting and turning to get a better view of herself. So this was what she looked like when shifted. Now this she liked. Damn, but she was pretty. Okay all was not lost after all. Then she heard her mother scream and turned to look.

He looked familiar and yet he didn't. Katie heard her mother say, "Jim?" It had to be him but what had they done to her mate?

"Look what they've done to me! I look terrible." Much like they looked he had lost almost all of his hair. All he had been left with was the hair on the top of his head and the hair over his eyes, though all of that had been trimmed down to almost nothing.

Jim did notice Katie in her shifted form so if she was as hairless as him and his mate, at least maybe it wasn't a total loss since in this form she looked normal. "What's happening!?" He didn't understand any of this. This was just not right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Life**

_Chapter 5_

Jim, Johanna, and Katie were taken from the room they were in, led outside, and put into something that was blacked out. They did get a quick look at what was outside and what they saw was shocking. They were so stunned that they hadn't even thought about putting up a fight over being sent somewhere yet again.

"What was that?" Johanna couldn't wrap her mind around what she had seen. None of it was even remotely recognizable.

What they were in now was close quarters. There was just enough room for maybe one more person and they couldn't see or hear much of anything. Then suddenly the space opened again and two people they'd never seen before were carrying something. They used whatever they were to push them toward something else that was right next to them.

This place was much larger and it was mostly empty save for one other person. They weren't allowed to sit anywhere near him. The two that were holding those things sat down with one in front of them and one behind them and the other person was way in the back.

Katie had looked at him since he was the only other person. He wasn't bad looking. She couldn't see too much of him but he had long, almost golden hair that was really straight. It seemed to be a dominant trait with the few people they had seen so far of late. However, where the golden color ended at his head she saw black or at least a darker color. He was also watching them.

This trip didn't last long, either. Now they were being taken down corridors that looked a lot like the ones with that invisible wall. There were also only a few people, though Katie didn't see that male way in the back again.

These two didn't say a word even though all three of them were asking them a lot of questions. Then the wall opened like previous walls. They were pushed inside and the wall closed behind them.

"Just what is going on?" Jim was done with this. He wasn't violent by nature but he was being pushed just a little too far when no one was talking. What was worse was that what few voices they did hear they couldn't begin to understand what they were saying.

This room was really familiar by now. It was small. There were four beds with one on top of the other on either side of the wall. There was a bathroom that they now knew what it was and did. There was also a small amount of storage space.

A quick test of the shower showed that it worked and it even provided hot water that could be cooled down. There was even the same dispenser of nice smelling liquid and other things that Katie was presently looking over.

They all heard something back in the main room and going back there they discovered three dark colored bags sitting on the floor. Looking inside they found a lot of cloth in various colors and other things.

"I've noticed all of them are wearing something like this," Katie commented as she held up something she hadn't seen before. Just as she was beginning to figure out what it was for given that it had a space that matched up perfectly with what was on her chest, there was a sound.

The last time they'd heard that sound food and water had been delivered. Only this time when the door opened Katie saw the same male who had been way in the back. This time, though, she got a better look at him.

He did look nice; he was taller than her dad and had a larger body than he did as well. His hair was maybe a little less golden in color than she had thought. However, she did notice easily that when the hair reached his head it was indeed darker. That dark color matched his the hair above his eyes. Now she got a good look at his ears and saw that they were pointed.

He was wearing something almost black in color. It covered his upper body, his legs, and his arms. Though the upper part wasn't completely closed so she could see skin. She decided it looked good on him.

"Hi, may I come in?" He was almost the first person that was actually talking to them since that time they were behind that invisible wall. He didn't wait for an answer and stepped inside and let the door close behind him.

"Please sit. I have a lot to tell you and I'm here to answer your questions." He walked most of the way into their space and sat on one of the beds since that was about all they had. He patted the empty space next to him.

Jim chose to sit next to him with his mate and cub on the opposite side.

"My name is Richard Rodgers. I know you are Jim, Johanna, and Katie."

Everything was…off. They could hear him saying something that made no sense to them, but while he spoke a different voice began talking and they understood everything he said.

"Extra voice?" Jim started there.

"Translator. You don't speak my language yet and I don't speak yours. However, I understand what you say and you can understand me. Wow, where to begin." Rick had thought about this for hours and still wasn't sure just where to start.

"We are Solarians. At least that's what we call ourselves. A probe found your planet and my mother gathered up the necessary money to mount an expedition to your planet. We discovered that everyone was dead but we did find a lot of other things."

"Planet?" Katie questioned.

That had Rick pulling his sleeve back to expose something on his arm. He had come prepared for a number of different questions. He pressed a few panels and suddenly something round was floating in front of their eyes.

"This is your planet." It was mostly white everywhere though there were large sections that were not. "The planet goes around your sun." Rick changed the display and now they saw the yellow thing and their planet far away from it.

"Like I said, most everyone was dead. But there was new life that was taking over the planet. But our probe had found something. You won't understand how but we made you and showed you where to live and grow up. We watched everything and made sure you were safe.

"You two, Jim and Johanna, grew up and had a child, what you call cub. Katie. She grew up fast and you eventually gave her her own space." Rick knew this was going to be hard and it was going to take longer than the day it was going to take them to reach their destination.

"You made us?" Jim couldn't remember where he came from. Unlike Katie he couldn't remember anyone else. There had always been Johanna and no one else.

Rick tried to explain. "We call it cloning. You are a clone of some DNA of your species that still existed. We augmented it so that you would grow up faster than normal. Basically a copy of someone that died long, long ago."

"We're dead?" Jim was sure he was nuts now. He wasn't dead. He was sitting there talking to him and his mate and cub were right over there.

"Well no, obviously not. It's just that you're all that's left that we could find of your race on your planet. Enough that we could make you two. I know you don't understand and that's okay. You're alive and that's what's important."

It became quiet as the three tried to think and Rick was letting them.

"We don't look like you, so who are we?" Katie knew they were different. The hair and the ears were dead giveaways.

"We don't know the name of your planet. We don't know what you called yourselves. We did learn one thing and that's why we made you, protected you, and watched. You are shifters just like all of my people are.

"You can change between this form and a different form. We call it shifting. Between Solarian and animal form for us. Between what you are and animal form. You two are large and orange and black while Katie is mostly white with gray. We don't know what the animal was called but we wanted to learn. You see, outside of us you were the first we'd ever seen of another race that could shift. For that reason we made you two," Rick explained.

Rick watched as Katie got up and ran into the bathroom. What he didn't know was that these two wanted to do the same thing. But it was their job to protect their cub so they stayed.

"I said too much, didn't I?" Rick knew it was gong to be difficult but he hadn't meant to scare them. "I'm really sorry. I'm only trying to explain. There's so very much to tell you. I'm going to let you three talk and I'll be back later. You're safe here, I promise. To us you _are_ shifters and that alone makes you special. It's why we came to your planet in the first place." Rick stood then squeezed between the two of them toward the door.

"Think of any questions you want to ask and I'll answer them next time. We only want to help. This trip is only one day so all meals will be delivered to your room again. I'm sorry if I've frightened you. That wasn't my intent." Rick took a quick peek into the bathroom and saw Katie sitting on the toilet. At least she wasn't crying.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"He's gone, Katie, you can come back in here," Johanna said to her from the entrance to the bathroom.

"They made us?" Katie didn't even begin to like the sound of it.

"Not you, just us. I remember giving birth to you quite clearly." Johanna urged her to sit next to her. "Do we believe him?" Johanna looked at her mate.

"The word clone makes no sense to me. I watched you give birth to Katie. What I don't remember is anyone but you. Katie has us but I don't remember anyone else, just you," Jim said brokenly, his eyes huge with distress. He couldn't remember having parents like Katie has.

"Neither do I. There was always just you," Johanna added. She didn't know what clone meant either. She was still happy that she had him and always had.

"Planet?" Katie questioned since that thing was gone now.

"I don't even know where we are now," Johanna complained heatedly. "First we were one place, then another, another, and now here. They give us food but never tell us anything. Until now."

"He didn't tell us anything!" Katie bit out angrily.

"Didn't he?" Jim challenged. "He knows we can shift between this form and a different one. He said that was why they were watching. He called us shifters. And that all of them are shifters, too."

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They'd spent what felt like hours talking to each other when suddenly there was a sound and the wall opened again to show the very same person as last time. Only now he had food and water.

"Hi." Rick put on one of his best smiles and stepped inside. "I brought food and water this time." He moved farther in and let the door close behind him. He set it on the empty space on one of the beds. "I know you have questions and I'm here to answer them. There's one thing. In our society it's common to wear clothes. That's what's in those bags. You're going to need to get used to wearing clothes after this." These three were still naked and was still difficult for him not to stare.

Rick had to admit that without hair, Katie looked absolutely gorgeous and confirmed for him just why he liked her as much as he did.

"Why?" Katie was comfortable just the way she was. Yes, he looked good wearing what he was wearing, but she didn't see the need. It wasn't cold enough to wear anything even without all the hair she used to have.

Yeah, how was he going to explain this. "Not everyone in our society is always good to everyone else. Most are but bad things happen." He turned his attention to Jim and Johanna. "Do you remember why or how you ended up pregnant and ended up giving birth to Katie?" Rick asked them.

"I will take that as a yes. Without clothes someone may decide to force you to do what happened for you to be pregnant and have Katie. It will not be soft and loving. It will not be something that you would enjoy. It will be painful and humiliating.

"Yes, we have laws against it and we severely punish anyone that does do that. But that doesn't always stop it from happening. One effort to try and prevent it is to wear clothes. What they can't see they don't want."

Jim saw the look of disgust over all of that on his mate's face and on Katie's.

"We're not perfect but we try. I'll let you eat and get dressed. I'll be right back." Rick turned to leave.

"Wait." Katie had a question. They'd worn clothes but only when it got really cold but there was something she didn't know what to do with. She searched one of the bags until she found it and held it up for him to see. "What's this?" She had an idea, but why?

Rick was sure he was blushing big time. "Um, that's worn here." He used his hands to show it went on her chest. "Just wrap it around your chest and it will automatically attach itself and then you can adjust it so that it's comfortable." At least she hadn't asked him about the panties or the tampons that were also in that bag. He was going to have to find someone to explain what to do with those.

"Basically as a female gets older her breasts," Rick placed his hands on his chest, "start to sag because of the pull of gravity and the skin stretching a bit. It's called a bra and it's meant to provide support to the breasts to help keep them from sagging." Jeez this was embarrassing. "Plus when you run they won't bounce all over and it helps to prevent back pain."

"I'll let you eat and get dressed now." Rick left as fast as his legs would let him.

"Bra?" Katie looked at her mother who also had breasts though now that she was looking at them, they did look different from hers. They always had actually.

"Eat and then we'll put those on. If this is what's expected of us then that's what we do." Johanna hadn't liked how he had explained why she had gotten pregnant and given birth to Katie. What she and her mate had done before Katie had been nothing but pleasurable. If he was telling the truth it might be possible that it wouldn't be pleasurable. Something that intimate needed to be pleasurable. If wearing clothes was one way to prevent it then they would be wearing clothes.

"It's uncomfortable." Katie was fidgeting and twisting and turning, trying mightily to find a good position for this thing on her chest.

"Katie." It looked like it was time for a talk. It had been just them and Johanna knew her and Jim were worried that it was just the three of them. What would happen when it was just Katie? They had grown up together and were learning that it was by design. But what future did Katie have if she was all alone?

"Do you like your chest? Are you happy with the size? You're not alone any longer. There are men out there just like the one that gave us these clothes. I know you know how you were born. What maybe you don't know is that what Jim and I did was pleasurable. Do you want it to be the opposite of that?" Johanna demanded.

"No, but I don't want a baby." If she didn't do it maybe she wouldn't have a baby.

Johanna tried to reason with her. "Precisely. If he's right and you go without all this you might end up having a baby when you don't want one. So get used to wearing all this stuff. It sounds like that's our future now."

Kate changed the subject as she tried putting on what else he left them. "Fine. …So do you believe that he can shift like we can?

"Only one way to find out. Get him to show us. While we are watching of course." Johanna wanted to see it.

Katie tried to hide her smile. For him to do that meant he would have to be without his clothes. Yes, she had seen her father naked all her life, but that was different. For reasons she couldn't explain she wanted to see him without his clothes and see what he changed into.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"Well you look different." Johanna and Kate came out of the bathroom to see Jim wearing his clothes. They were all wearing the same thing. "Or a lot like us," Johanna stated. They were even all wearing what was on their feet which was also really odd feeling yet comfortable at the same time.

"I feel different, too," Jim remarked. "I'm just not sure what to think of it. My biggest problem is knowing what is the truth. A lot has happened yet they haven't shown us anything. Even getting here was done in the dark. So where are we?" Jim was filled with questions now.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They were ready this time when there was a signal. The wall opened to show the same person as before. They watched him step into the room and the wall closed behind him.

"I trust the food was to your liking?" Rick asked them. "We brought some hot food with us this time." He also noticed that everyone was finally wearing clothes.

"We have questions," Jim told him.

"Fire away. That's just a figure of speech I don't really mean fire something at me. Not that you actually have weapons to shoot me with. …And I'm going to shut up now. Ask your questions." Rick suddenly felt like a complete idiot and had just made a fool of himself.

"You said you can shift. So prove it. Take off all that and shift," Jim said flatly.

"Right here? Right in front of… Yeah, you mean it," Rick moaned. Like everyone else of his race he wasn't comfortable being naked in front of an audience. Especially in front of Katie. He'd thought that the first time it would be just the two of them. So much for his dreams.

"All right. …This is so embarrassing." Rick began taking off his coat, then his shoes, followed by his slacks. He was left standing there in his boxers.

"Just don't go getting all scared on me. I'm what is called a _Lightning Cat_. Mostly thanks to my coloration of my fur. You'll see." Rick sucked it up, stripped off his boxers, and quickly changed.

Rick might have been fast but he wasn't fast enough. Katie grinned since she got a good look at him. "WOOOHH!" Katie was impressed. Once he shifted he was easily her size with her parents being a bit bigger than either of them.

He had a white chest and white front legs. His head was black though he had a mane around his neck that was gray. His paws were also gray while his body and tail were black. The insides of his very pointy ears were yellow and he had these yellow spots at his front ankles, knees and just behind his neck mane. Then there was more yellow on his body with two on his tail and the very tip of his tail.

He had this cute little pink nose and his eyes were even bluer than his normal eyes and almost glowed. It was his yellow fur that really stood out.

Katie took a step back when he got closer but there wasn't really anywhere to go. She felt him rubbing his head and body up against her legs. She reached out to pet his head and feel his fur. All of him felt the same no matter what color it was. Even the yellow parts.

She used a finger to trace one of his yellow areas. All of them were in this zigzag pattern that darted here and there. Katie petted him a little harder when he did nothing to stop her. He was soft to the touch and she liked it. Except for his size she would even say he was cute.

She couldn't help but smile a little as she petted his fur.


	6. Chapter 6

Life

_Chapter 6_

Well, Jim and Johanna had to admit that he was a shifter. He had proven it as they saw him rub up against Katie who was petting him softly and even smiling as she did it.

It made them think that everything else he had said was the truth. Then as they watched he began to shift back. But he didn't quite make it. He was standing there on two legs and looked a little like he used to, except that he kept most of his hair only now he was back to being tall. He lost his tail but kept his coloration. His face had lips like his other lips only bigger. His eyes were just as blue and while his ears looked more like the other ones, they still had yellow inside of them.

"You haven't tried this before have you?" Rick asked them knowing full well that they hadn't given that everything they did had been watched and recorded.

"You can still talk?" Jim was shocked and watched as Katie took his face in her hands and looked him over. His nose was still pink though it was bigger now. His face was still the same color. The whiskers in his face were a lot longer. His blue eyes were bigger and just as bright as she found herself swimming in them. All she could see was those eyes.

"Hi," Rick said, loving having her hands on his face as she looked him in his eyes. "You should try it. It does take a little practice. Basically you gain some of the advantages of your animal form but look more like your other base form. You're slower than your animal form but faster than your other form. You have quicker reactions, your vision is better, your sense of smell is better. One downside, if it means something to you, is that your claws can get in the way. It makes it harder to hold smaller items. I don't actually have a thumb to hold things with, just paws." He held them up for them to see.

One of the things Rick wanted to do was kiss her but he resisted. Maybe later when her parents weren't around. He would love to just stand there and let Katie keep looking at him like she was now, but he only had a few hours left and he still needed to get some sleep before they arrived.

Rick turned away from Katie who had released his face. "You had questions?" Maybe they had fewer now.

"Questions," Jim muttered but hadn't yet made it past watching him not just shift but not really shift back completely.

"Where are we going?" Johanna asked.

"It's a farming planet called Etheria. Basically it's a simpler way of life. People have anywhere from small farms to vast farms. It's used to grow crops that when harvested mostly go to our home planet to support the population. We're all assigned to be here for the next two years. We're going to be helping a farmer work his fields and whatever else he needs.

"Maybe in a couple of years we may want to move to Melmac which is a small moon that's still being terraformed if it's ready by then. The land on Etheria is all spoken for but not on Melmac since it's not ready yet. We're all going to learn to be farmers." Rick didn't know all that much about being a farmer so this was going to be an experience.

"Terror form?" Katie didn't understand the word and by the look of her parents neither did they.

"The moon didn't have an atmosphere. There was no way to breathe there. Nothing could grow there. It was basically just one big rock. It's called terraforming. Basically you modify the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to something more similar to more like our home planet. However, it won't be ready for a few years. If you don't like it you change it," Rick explained.

"We know nothing about farming, whatever that is," Jim pointed out.

"True, but you are hunters. Supplies are being sent but for now we need to feed ourselves. I don't know a lot about this place that we're going to. What I do know is that it's new. Beasts are plentiful. Though I don't know is anything about them.

"Our farmer may need farmers to tend his fields. But the entire area may need hunters more. We won't know until we get there. …More questions?" Rick had told them just about all he knew about the place.

"Why are you going?" Johanna had an idea and it involved her cub which might not be such a bad thing. She needed to have a future.

"I did something wrong and this is my punishment. I'm going with you because I know you, I've watched you," Rick replied.

"You've said that before. That you were watching us. We never saw you," Jim said.

"Not directly, no. However, Katie did see something." Rick saw the puzzled look on her face. "Not us exactly. You were out hunting. Your parents went one way and you went out into the snow."

"Snow?" That was a word Katie had never heard before.

"The white stuff that fell from the sky when it was cold," Rick explained patiently. "Suddenly there was a beast that was all white and was really big. It almost killed you. Then something showed up and saved you by killing it. After that you dragged its dead body home."

"The silver thing. It was big, all arms and legs with holes in them. That was you?" It didn't look anything like him so he was lying.

"Not me personally. That was a guardian. A beast of our own design. We used them to protect you. To try and keep you safe. Your parents encountered their own beast that almost killed them. It killed something else instead. We had a guardian watching them as well and would have used it if it was needed. We wanted you safe and alive. We still do. You're the last of your kind and that makes you special."

"Last?" Jim didn't understand but he did know what last meant.

"Oops." He had opened his big mouth. "There's just the three of you. You're all we know about. That makes you the last." He wasn't sure they needed to know their planet and the entire system they had been in and had called home was gone forever. Whatever race they were, they were the very last of them now.

"Questions?" Rick was sure they had a few still.

"Can we do what you are doing?" Katie asked curiously since she liked how he looked and he could talk and maybe do other things. Maybe a lot of other things.

"It takes someone who's in sync with their animal side. Not everyone is. Some are more timid, less willing to shift at all much less shift part way. They have the possibility of not being able to shift back to being a Solarian if their animal is stronger than they are being a Solarian. It's easy for them to lose themselves, for their animal to seize control and remain an animal for the rest of their life.

"Those that are in sync can shift part way but it takes someone with a strong sense of self and a strong will in order to do it. The longer you stay this way the greater the risk," Rick said, hoping they understood.

"Then you should shift back." Katie didn't want to see him trapped forever as an animal.

Rick nodded and shifted back to being a naked Solarian. Then he quickly put his clothes back on followed by putting his boots as he sat on one of the beds. He spoke to them as he dressed. "We'll be arriving in a few hours. I have clearance to take you to an observation deck. You'll get to see the planet we'll be calling home for at least two years."

"Two years for all of us or just you?" Jim queried since he had said something about doing something wrong and this was his punishment.

"You wouldn't like our home planet. There's nothing there for you. You'll be here forever or maybe be offered the chance to move to Melmac when it's ready. For me I will be here a minimum of two years. Longer if I choose to stay or move to Melmac," Rick admitted to them.

"I know you may not have reason to trust me or us. But I promise you, this place is better than my home planet or the planet you were on previously." Especially since they would be dead and their race gone forever.

"I'll be back to take you to the observation deck so you can see with your own eyes. Then we'll be taken down to the planet where we'll meet our farmer and get settled in. Neither of us have a choice. It should be safer than where you were," Rick told them and left their room.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"Why is it I think we're missing something? Something big. Something important," Jim said since he couldn't think of what that something was.

"We've learned a lot already. It doesn't sound like they want to hurt us. That silver thing looked nothing like anything I've ever seen. Just how do you create something?" Katie didn't get that part.

"He said they created us. Maybe that's the part I'm missing. How could you possibly create us? That makes no sense." Jim shook his head.

"Maybe we're missing something or don't know something," Johanna offered.

"He said something about a clone. Whatever that is. …Is he really going to show us a planet? Or is it another one of those things he put in the air?" Katie used her hands to show the planet and then the sun just hanging there in the middle of nowhere.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Katie was in the bathroom looking at herself close up in the mirror. She was trying to guess what she would look like if she only shifted half way. Part this and part animal. She could hear her animal inside her trying to get her to try it. It was just that she'd never really listened to it all her life. Oh, she heard it and when its wants lined up with hers she would do it. And actually at the moment both of their wants wanted to see and she kept using her fingers to stretch and push and pull her face and imagine what she would look like.

Then they all heard that sound that said the wall was about to open. Katie rushed to the door and saw Rick standing there.

"We're just about there if you want to come and see," Rick offered invitingly. Katie was right in front of him since she was all set to go see.

It turned out it wasn't just them. There was a male who was wearing something different and had one of these big things in his arms who was right behind them the entire way. Katie turned to look back at him a lot as they walked.

"Ignore him. He won't do anything if you don't," Rick soothed.

It wasn't much as far as ships went and there were only twelve other people on this shuttle that was meant to hold many more than that. Thankfully it did have a forward area that you could look through to see what was out there.

When they arrived there were eight of the twelve already here. It was the first time they had been around so many people like Rick was at the same time. It was also the first time they could see a female that wasn't wearing that black and white outfit.

They also noticed that everyone had turned to look at them.

Rick took Katie's hand since that was what he'd been dying to do for days. Actually he'd been wanting to at least kiss her for months, so this was at least something. He pulled her up to the glass so she could look out.

Thanks to their approach most of the planet was visible because of this system's sun. "That's Etheria. About half of it is water and the other half is land. It looks like there's a storm somewhere. That's that large, white swirling area," Rick explained and all three of them had their faces glued to the glass.

"A planet is a large object such as Etheria that orbits a star. That's that big glowing thing over there. Planets are smaller than stars, and they don't produce light. Planets are shaped like a slightly squashed ball called a spheroid. Objects that orbit planets are called satellites. A star and everything which orbits it are called a star system," one of the women who was up there watching suddenly informed them.

"Forgive me, it's a habit of mine. I'm Jannalor Holafiel. This is my mate, Maeral. We're both teachers that decided to take a transfer to Etheria."

"This is Katie, Jim, and Johanna. I'm Richard Rodgers. If you're teachers you might be seeing them later. They don't speak our language."

"New students, excellent. I teach grade school while my husband teaches various classes in high school. Having someone this old that doesn't speak our language is unusual." She was intrigued now.

Maeral spoke for the first time. "Forgive my mate. She's a motor mouth and once you get her going she doesn't stop."

Jannalor took exception to that remark. "I am not! I just happen to like to talk to people. And I am _not_ a motor mouth." She glared at her mate for his remark. She would think of a way to thank him for his comment later.

Jannalor was watching these three smiling at their little fight. However, they hadn't said a word yet. "So what do you think? It doesn't sound like you've seen many planets." She wanted to hear their language.

"It's strange." Katie turned to look at the planet. "How does it just sit there? There's nothing but black all around it."

Jannalor's eyebrows shot up as Katie spoke and she stepped up to the young woman. "Where's your translator?" She searched her to try and find it. She had heard both voices but really wanted to hear Katie's again without the translation. Jannalor found it and pressed it to get it to stop. "Ask me that question again, please.

Katie saw Rick nod and though it sounded stupid she repeated her questions. Only this time there wasn't a voice that said something else like she was getting used to. Then she watched as Rick reached over to her and pressed it again to turn it back on.

"How unusual. I can honestly say I've never heard anything quite like it. It sounds like a series of words and grunts all mixed up. Oh, I do hope you three end up as part of my first class. This is going to be so much fun." At first she wasn't sure this was a good idea. But they both wanted a new start and moving there offered them that. "I can't wait. …I should let you go back to watching. We'll be landing soon." And end up going their own ways.

"Told you…motor mouth." He easily withstood the daggers his mate shot at him. "But I love you anyway." He kissed her forehead and saw her glare soften.

"Teacher?" Katie inquired after they moved away but didn't really leave.

"Your parents taught you to speak. She teaches people any number of things. Probably even teaching kids my language. She might end up teaching you my language. Then you won't need this thing any longer." Rick pointed at her translator.

It sounded like a lot of work to her but if it meant she didn't hear that voice every time she or someone else said something it might be worth it.

Mostly they just stood there and watched as the planet got closer and closer until everything turned white as they traveled through clouds. Then suddenly they were high above the ground which was getting closer and closer really fast.

Katie grabbed hold of Rick's arm. Then she felt mad, scared, angered, and rejected when he removed his arm. However all of that went away when instead he used that arm to slip around her and pull her in closer to his body. Now this she liked and found herself melting into him as she let him hold her.

It was a structure of some kind and they didn't even end up on the ground. The ground was under them somehow. The structure itself was in an arc and they had spun around before landing on something. Right now they were looking out onto the planet. What they all saw was nothing but farmland. Though in the distance there were other buildings, only much smaller. There were also a lot of trees and they even saw a body of water.

"Looks like we're here. The guard will take you back to your room so you can collect all the clothes I left you and I need to go get all of mine. I'll meet you just outside of the ship. I'm not leaving you and not knowing what to do next." Rick risked kissing Katie's head. Then he let go of her and hurried to his room.

Katie suddenly felt something she had never felt before. She missed being held by him; he had kissed her head and she wanted to chase after him so she didn't lose sight of him. However she did still have her parents and he had said he would be there.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They had their bags and now they were standing there looking at what had brought them here. Or at least that was what they had come out of anyway. There was another one just like it a little ways down. There were a couple that they didn't begin to understand.

Worse the guy with whatever that thing was had brought them out here. He told them to stay right here and then he had left.

There were people around and all of them were ignoring them as they just stood there. "THERE!" Katie yelled as Rick walked out with his much bigger bags and hurried toward them with a smile on his face.

"Miss me?" Rick widened his smile since he had heard Katie yell.

"No!" Katie said as she lied through her teeth.

Rick still smiled. "Let's see if we can find our farmer and go see our new home."

"What does he do?" Katie was curious.

"You know almost as much as I do. I have a name. I know he grows crops using two different methods. I know he has a mate and they have a baby. I know he needs us because he, like most everyone here, didn't come here with much help. I do know he's having a problem with the local wildlife so we're probably going to be doing all we can to keep the locals from eating and destroying what he's trying to grow." Rick didn't know much else.

Katie, Jim, and Johanna stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down. In all this time they had never seen stairs so far up that looked so wide open. These were really wide and while what they stepped on looked solid enough, it didn't look like anything was holding them up.

Rick was already part way down when he noticed he was all alone. "Problem? It's perfectly safe. I'm standing on it." He jumped up and down just to prove it. Katie felt her voice to yell at him to stop before he fell through but it ended up trapped in her throat. But he did stop and just stood there. Then he came back up to them.

"Let's see if we can find a lift then." Rick walked around until he saw a sign.

Now they were in this little space that closed around them then opened back up again. Out walked Rick with them right behind him. Now suddenly they were on the ground floor and could see green grass, trees, and in the distance, a lot of buildings.

Rick was walking while these three were looking at what had gotten them here.

Rick saw him straight away. Granted the sign with his last name on it certainly helped. "Hey guys over here!" Rick called to get them moving.

"This is our host, Hagen Liasys. This is Jim, his mate Johanna, and their daughter Katie."

"A pleasure. My mate and our son are at home. I'm glad you're finally here. Something has decided that my fields are his and it needs to stop. Thankfully it hasn't figured out how to get into the buildings yet," Hagen told them.

"We can look into it after we find our rooms. We can unpack later," Rick nodded reassuringly.

"My mate is making sure your two rooms are ready for you. I have four single beds for you so I hope that will work," Hagen said anxiously.

Jim and Johanna had started to get used to sleeping separate from the other and Katie had always slept alone.

"We'll make it work. Lead the way," Rick assured him and they followed close behind him.

"I have only the three pods," Hagen explained when he stopped at what they would be riding in.

"What is it?" Johanna had never seen anything like it.

Hagen didn't blink since he'd been warned they would be using translators which meant he and his mate had one as well. "Transit pods. Small, inexpensive, and powered by the sun. They might not be state of the art but they work. It might be a little tight with all your luggage but we can make it work." If it didn't work out Hagen was going to have to make two trips. Something he would rather avoid.

Rick ended up sitting next to Hagen with Katie's bag in his lap. Jim and Johanna were in the next pod with their bags in their laps while Katie was squeezed between Rick's bags and the wall of the pod that had been closed up against her. She was uncomfortable but since it was all glass she could see everything.

There was no real road which was fine since the pods hovered above the ground and went over everything with ease. Hagen used his headset to call to the other two pods. "Everything okay back there?"

"Fine," Katie answered even if she wasn't enjoying it much.

Jim responded for himself and Johanna. "Fine here."

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

It took them an hour, Rick noticed, as they passed other farms and traveled around the borders of farms and even went past the remnants of a forest. "Are there many forests left untouched?" That might be where his intruder was coming from.

"There are still three. They're far from each other, though. My land's up against one of them. By law I can't do anything to the woods themselves. Nor can I legally set traps in them. Also killing the wildlife is against the law unless your life is in immanent danger. I'm hoping you four have an answer or I might end up losing one of my fields. Something I can't really afford.

"We bought all the land we could while still being able to buy as much equipment we could. However, we didn't anticipate the cost of relocation properly so I can't afford to hire help. And there aren't that many that want to do this job. I jumped at the offer of you four.

"I have the space for you. You'll see." Hagen thought his farm was one of the better ones.


	7. Chapter 7

**Life**

_Chapter 7_

"Oh, my!" Rick saw it as they drove up to it and stopped out in front of it. He was thinking a rustic farm house made of wood with no A/C, minimal heat, no hot showers, and the like. This definitely was not that place.

"Like it?" Hagen could tell that he did given by the way he was reacting. He shut everything down, got out to help with the luggage, and free Katie. He had everyone out and let them look the place over. "I kept all of the shipping containers that were used to get us out here. I bought them and turned them into our home. There are eight on each side, giving us two sets of four stacked on top of each other. Bedrooms and bathrooms are upstairs. Living room, dining room, kitchen, workroom, and garage are all downstairs.

"I built a roof to cover the entire place and installed movable glass walls on either end as well as smaller ones between each set of containers. Helps with ventilation since we have no cooling. Heating's done room by room on an as needed basis. All of the outside walls and ceiling have insulation to keep the cold out.

"The roof is filled with old fashioned solar panels to provide all the power. It was less expensive that way. The more modern stuff was too expensive. Underground beneath two of the bottom containers are water cisterns. They're filled using rain water. One of the other underground containers houses all the filters, pumps, supplies, and spares. The final underground container is our walk-in cooler and freezer for food storage. Dry storage is in the kitchen. What we don't have a lot of at the moment is meat. Come on, you can see and get settled in."

The cargo containers were a bright orange while the wide and tall wall between them was all glass with white trim. Hagen slid the doors open until the entire wall for one floor was wide open. They all saw his son inside a movable enclosure on the floor. "Tanelia!" He only saw his son and not his mate. She came out of the kitchen. "Tanelia, our guests and help have arrived. This is Rick, Jim, Johanna, and Katie."

She nodded a welcome as she dried her hands. "A pleasure. I was just starting on lunch if you want something." She was betting they hadn't been fed much or what they did eat was crap that certainly wasn't up to her high standards of how things should taste.

Hagen looked questioningly at her. "Why were the doors closed?" It was a little stuffy in here.

"We had an uninvited guest so I closed them. He was bigger than Taredd. It ran when I charged it, thankfully." It was one of several scares since arriving here and finishing construction. "He's fine, it didn't get anywhere close to him."

"Sounds like we should start work immediately," Rick asserted. He didn't like the sound of wildlife being bold enough to just walk right inside this place. That little kid might end up someone's snack or dinner.

"A quick tour first," Hagen insisted instead. "Living room in this container and a secondary living room out here under the main roof." It consisted of one large and long sofa facing an outside wall. That wall had a fireplace with a tile wall. To either side was a sizable area filled with bookcases. There were even real books on them though none of the shelves were full.

"Real books were less expensive and they acted as packing around the more delicate items," Hagen explained as they followed Tanelia to the kitchen. "Out here in the main area is the dining room." The table looked handmade while the chairs were clearly more modern. It seated six comfortably.

The kitchen was all white everywhere. One wall was all glass while the opposite wall was all storage. The other two walls held kitchen equipment, and the sink and counter space to work on. It all looked familiar to Rick. Just not to Jim, Johanna, or Katie.

He took them back out into the main room that was mostly empty. "That one's a workroom and the other one's the garage that's accessed outside and a man door on this side. Our bedrooms and bathroom are up these stairs. Yours are up those stairs. There's a bathroom between them that's shared and a skylight just outside and another inside.

"I'll let you decide who gets what room and meet you back down here. Then I can show you the barn and the vertical farms before you start work." Hagen retreated to the kitchen to talk to his mate.

The stairs were opposite from each other. If they wanted they could come out the bathroom down the stairs, just keep running straight, up the other set of stairs, and into the other bathroom.

They hadn't actually worked out who was going to sleep where yet. However they soon learned that both bedrooms were basically identical. The floor here looked like plain concrete just like the entire ground floor. The ceiling was exposed flat metal roofing though there was another roof over it to cover the entire house. The walls were real wood boards.

There were a pair of twin-sized beds in each room along with two matching armoires. They were very simple: a tall cabinet with doors and two drawers under that. There were small chests for bedding at the foot of the beds. The furniture in the two rooms was identical. They were large spaces that had almost nothing in them and what was in them barely took up any of the space.

Rick picked one, dropped his bags, and headed for the stairs. He noticed that Katie had followed him and had come back out without a bag. Jim and Johanna came out of their room minus their bags. They followed Rick into the kitchen where lunch was being made. It did prove to Rick, Jim, Johanna, and Katie that they were indeed short on meat since it was a vegetarian lunch.

Walking out the other wall of windows with a door that did the same thing as the other showed them he had four more buildings all just a few feet away from each other. Each was a set of four containers stacked on top of each other for a total of 16 containers.

The first one had large wide doors in each of the lower containers that turned out to be his idea of a barn that held a lot of equipment as well as a work station.

Next came one of the other buildings that had two man doors on each side at the end. Inside they found two rows of shelving which were filled with trays with plants in them and lights above each one from floor to ceiling. They found a rolling ladder on each side to reach the highest rows.

"The others are just like this one," Hagen said. "These grow all the green leafy stuff that grows on this planet. The farmland beyond is where all the taller crops are grown. I have farm equipment that came in these containers that had to be assembled after we arrived. I use the barn to repair that equipment while the other work room is for these rooms and the house. Thankfully I'm rather handy at both that and farming." It was why they were here.

"I like it. Now all you need is a swimming pool," Rick joked.

"I did consider it, but I ran out of cargo containers." Hagen wasn't joking. He had thought about it and even had a plan for how it could be done using just one container sitting on the ground. "Maybe after we start earning money instead of spending it."

Rick took back his joke. "I stand corrected. I suggest we retreat to one of our rooms so we can come up with a plan and get started working."

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They ended up in Jim and Johanna's room and sat down on their beds since there were no chairs.

"I'm thinking first we need to show the local wildlife that we're here now and we don't approve of them just coming into this home whenever they please. Scare the little guys farther away from here. Get them to go back into the forest and this time stay there," Rick recommended.

"They mentioned that they're low on meat," Jim pointed out.

"Then we find one we think we can take and provide some much needed meat," Rick said. "Just don't pick something too big. It wouldn't be good to get hurt or worse killed right after we get here. It would look bad. The locals might think they can take us." Something they really didn't need.

"You two can hunt together while I take Katie with me," Rick proposed and missed seeing Katie bite her tongue to keep from smiling. "Questions? Is there anything I've missed?"

"How long and how deep into the forest do we go?" Jim was willing to defer to Rick for now.

"Deep enough to scare the local wildlife farther into the forest. As to how long, that depends on how long it takes to find something we can use for meat. Use your best judgment. You've hunted together often enough to know what to do." Rick had observed them, after all.

"I'll meet you downstairs." Rick got up to go to his room to strip and shift.

Once he was inside he found Katie already stripping. She might be secure in her own body but Rick wasn't exactly comfortable to see her almost naked and this close. She was basically within arms length. Still he managed to strip and saw her just standing there, now completely naked, watching him. She was so beautiful but he knew he shouldn't so he shifted halfway and was still standing there though he did look a lot like his animal form.

"Can I do that?" She had wanted to try that ever since she had seen him do it.

"No," Rick said, his voice rougher and deeper. "It's not safe for you. The risk is you being lost in being an animal instead of who you are now." He closed his eyes. Damn but she was beautiful.

"I don't listen to my animal. Only when I'm hunting," Katie countered.

"Which is about what we're going to do. So no, not this time. Now shift before your parents start to think we're doing something else in here." Rick opened his eyes but she was still standing there.

"Doing what?" Katie bit her lower lip since she knew exactly what he meant. Still she shifted since he might be right. Her parents just might come in here to see what was keeping them.

At the top of the stairs was where they found Jim and Johanna. Standing at the entrance to the kitchen were Hagen and Tanelia.

Rick went down first with the other three right behind him.

"The one I know, but what are the other three?" Hagen had never seen anything like them. The two that were black and orange were the largest of the four and they looked dangerous.

Tanelia could only shake her head. "I've never seen anything like them before. This just might work, though." Having them was going to cost them in terms of food. But if they grew enough and they brought back meat it might not be that costly. Tanelia was actually thinking this might just work. They watched them go out one of the doors and then leave their view.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"You two take the forest on this end. Katie and I will take the other end. Remember, scare the crap out of them and if possible bring back some meat." Rick waited until Jim and Johanna were away. He turned to Katie. "We're going to go down to the end of the building out back and head toward the far end of the forest just inside it and scare everyone we see. Put the fear of god into them." Rick shifted into his full animal form. Since Katie was in her animal form she couldn't ask him who god was. But she filed it away for later and trotted away to keep up with him.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Katie was catching on that he really did mean just scare them. He was walking along, roaring occasionally just to make sure everything knew he was there. Since he was doing it so did she and with their keen ears they could hear her parents doing the same.

Eventually they could even see animals running like mad. It seemed to be working perfectly. Then something roared back at them. That had both of them stopping dead in their tracks.

Rick used his paw to signal Katie to stand next to him. They couldn't communicate like this so that was a disadvantage. However Rick had an answer for that problem. He shifted halfway so he could talk to her. "I don't know what it is but it sounds big. I want you to go left a little but always be able to see me. If it's big then that means it's a danger to the farm or several farms. So we're going hunting. If I run away, you run away and we'll meet back at the farm and warn your parents when they get back. If we kill it we drag it home for the meat. Got it?" Rick asked her and was shocked and thrilled in a way no one or anything had done in the past. Her answer was to kiss him.

Okay it was more her animal lips pressed to his more non-animal looking lips but he still saw it as their first kiss. His cock also started to twitch at the implications of that one tiny kiss. Granted maybe Katie didn't see it as a kiss, but how could she not?

In any event Rick shifted back to his animal form and moved off to the right slowly and as quietly as possible. He kept looking between where he was going, where he thought whatever had roared back at them had been, and where Katie was now.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Neither one of them saw it until it was almost too close. Katie was in hunting mode so she was down really low and almost crawling on her legs. She was trying to keep Rick in her field of vision, but the number of lifeforms, dead and even downed trees, was making it difficult. However when she did see him he was doing what she was doing, stepping slowly and very carefully.

Then suddenly it started to slowly go over an old downed tree. It was bigger than either of them. It was also ugly. Its wedge-shaped head showed up first and it had horns that pointed backwards of all things. It also had two horns on each side of its face that also went backwards. It was brown and blended in with the ground cover almost perfectly. It had its mouth open a little and that mouth was filled with teeth. Its front legs showed up as it began to step over the dead tree. It only had four toes on each foot that ended in large claws or nails since they looked hard and couldn't be retracted like hers. Then she saw its back. It was arched, covered in large scales and was filled with spikes that arched backwards.

Katie didn't dare move or even breathe as she watched. Finally its back legs showed up; they looked well muscled and had the same four toes with the same nails. Once it was finally over the dead tree she saw that it had not one but two tails. They looked like whips to her. Then she watched as it slinked slowly the same direction. It was long and maybe a little thin looking.

She heard it snarl. It was clearly hunting them since they had both been roaring to scare the smaller stuff away from the farm. That was when its drool leaked out and literally burned the dead leaves lying on the ground. They had actually let off a little smoke.

The beast she was used to that was the ruler of the planet she had been on was all muscle, really strong, and fast. This thing was nothing like that. This thing looked fast and looked like it could squeeze under almost anything. She was betting its best weapon was its bite. It wasn't just the teeth, it was that greenish drool that was escaping from its mouth.

Then suddenly she saw Rick racing toward it at a speed she couldn't duplicate. He took a swipe at its left rear leg and kept on running as fast as he could. He almost went right over her. It, whatever it was, roared either from the pain, from being attacked, or simply because it was angry. It spun quickly and took off after Rick.

Katie coiled her legs and when it started to run past her she jumped and used her left paw to take a swipe, using her claws to hit the same left rear leg and then keep on running.

They both heard it roar either from the pain, defiance from being attacked, or just plain anger. It turned to chase her. Katie could hear it racing after her.

Katie saw a nice big tree and did what her animal inside her suggested. She hit a tree and used her rear legs to launch herself off of it in a direction that should take her back in the direction Rick had gone. It was a good thing she had, too. She saw that it had been right behind her. But her action took it by surprise and instead of bouncing off the tree it slammed right into it.

She also saw Rick running right for her and zoom past her. It had her putting on the brakes and turning to follow. She was just in time to see Rick sink his teeth into the same left rear leg and rip it open. Then he let go and raced away.

This time Katie knew it was roaring from the pain of having its leg bitten. Though it was still fast and it was up from being stunned after slamming into that tree and took off after Rick. This time it was she who was hot on it heels. She could smell its blood. It was wounded and looked to be favoring that leg now.

Then they both saw Rick racing to their left. Katie watched as it slid to try and change directions. It clearly didn't know how to change directions using what was available. Katie was grinning since it meant she and Rick were fighting smarter than it was. It also meant it was a little off balance to make the turn. Katie just kept running and decided to try what Rick had done. She leapt at its rear left leg, sank her teeth deep into the leg, and tasted blood.

There was a problem, a big one. She didn't let go fast enough and while her momentum kept her going and she ripped open its leg pretty good, it also left her almost standing there dead still. It roared from the pain and the next thing Katie knew she saw a tail headed her way. It slammed into the side of her body, sending her flying until she rolled, landed upright, and skidded across the ground a little. That hurt and she got back up slowly. It was rushing at her and then it opened its mouth. Just then Rick showed up and sank his teeth into its left rear leg yet again.

Katie saw its head move a little which was a good thing because green-colored spittle left its mouth. That stuff hit a nearby tree and ate half of the trunk away, causing it to start to fall.

Rick, though, had done just what Katie had done. He'd bitten it for too long and was just now releasing its leg, still standing there. He, too, had a good taste of its blood in his mouth.

The brown creature whirled around to confront Rick. Katie saw that his left leg was now a complete mess and it wasn't using it to turn. Ignoring the pain in her ribs Katie got moving and began to run.

It had Rick in its sights; somehow it had spun in place and was getting ready to bite Rick. Katie jumped and used her front paws to land between its two horns on its head, slamming its head down into the ground and then used her rear legs to leap far away. It was more than enough for Rick to get his legs under him and race away to catch up to Katie.

It was beyond pissed. Creatures it had never before encountered had just done something nothing else ever had before. It tried to run after them but realized that its left rear leg failed to respond. Its blood was everywhere which was something else it had never experienced.

It roared its defiance.

Katie had stopped and she found Rick right next to her. They both had bloody mouths that were still dripping blood. Thankfully it wasn't their blood. They could both taste and smell that it was its blood.

They were still standing side by side and looking everywhere for it. Even though Rick wanted to be able to talk to her, he didn't dare risk it. He might be in charge but he was still pumping adrenaline from the battle and he could hear his animal roaring. If he shifted part way he might not be able to shift back. Shifting to his normal form was an option so he could talk, but again his animal was roaring so he actually couldn't or didn't want to try. So he just stood there next to her.

Katie for her part was happy to have him standing next to her. Her animal was roaring. They had taken on something that was truly dangerous and they were still alive. But where was IT?

They'd been standing there for a while now. Rick decided it was time to go looking. Maybe based on the amount of blood he could smell it had bled out. Or it had limped away to try and recover.

Rick started to move slowly and was way down almost on his legs and was taking each step with great care. Katie followed him, doing the same. It was time to find out where it was now and if necessary, to follow it and finish it off so that it didn't come back or have a chance to mate and make more of them. One was enough.


	8. Chapter 8

**Life**

_Chapter 8_

"Where are they?" Jim was worried. They'd been back for a while and now he and Johanna were out near the forest where those two had gone. "Maybe we should go looking for them."

"Just wait here. I'm going to go talk to Hagen. Maybe he knows someone who can come help us. It's a big forest. They may have just gotten deeper than they thought while hunting," Johanna suggested and left him. They hadn't seen anything worth hunting though they hadn't gone in very deep. They were supposed to be scaring everything away first and may have simply overdone it.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Johanna was back with Hagen. Hagen had argued that if they didn't show up soon he would make a call. "Anything?" Hagen had only just gotten the help he needed. It was just his luck he would lose two of them on the very first day.

Jim shook his head; he had nothing. "I'll go make a call." They had satellites in orbit that might be able to pinpoint their location.

"WAIT!" Johanna stopped him and tried to listen.

"What?" Hagen queried only to have Johanna wave at him to keep quiet. Then they both watched as she pointed at where she thought she heard something. Jim ran with Hagen right behind him followed by Johanna.

A moment later they all heard it. It was actually a fair amount of noise. The three of them ran toward the noise. What they saw was Rick and Katie dragging something, something big and quite clearly dead. Rick and Katie were happy to have the help since they were tired from dragging this thing from deeper into the forest to here. They gave up and let those three literally pick it up and follow them into the barn area.

Rick shifted part way. "We need to clean up and get dressed. We need pictures of this thing and maybe a scan of it. Can you do that?" he asked Hagen.

"Pictures, yes. I'll need to call someone to scan it. What is it? I've never seen anything like it." It was bigger than Jim or Johanna had been when they shifted and those teeth and nails had danger written all over them.

"I have no idea. But it's a predator. It was hunting us. We left a trail of blood all the way here so I don't think any of us are getting any sleep tonight. If this thing has a mate it's going to come looking." Rick turned and walked toward his bathroom.

Katie, though, was intercepted by Johanna who dropped to her knees and hugged her. They were both still bloody and Johanna could smell it on her.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Katie. We were so scared." Johanna hugged her again then let go of her. "I'll let you go get cleaned up." Johanna's eyes followed her as she trotted away to go into the house and take a shower.

"Big teeth, big nails but not claws, and twin tails. I've never seen anything like it." Jim was shaking his head. Then he finally saw something was wrong with it. "It's missing its left rear leg."

Hagen moved in close. "It's been ripped off. These wounds here look like knife wounds or something similar. Claws, maybe, but these wounds on the bone…they're something else." He backed away when Jim came over to get a closer look.

"Claws. Katie, perhaps, or Rick. …Or both. The ones on the bone look like teeth marks to me. I think they ripped at it and bit it off. Or enough that it was ripped off being dragged back here," Jim proposed.

"I have to get the camera. You might want to watch where this one came from. Rick might be right." Hagen ran to the house to get his camera and make that call.

Jim and Johanna left the barn to watch the woods for another one. "We should strip and shift, Jim," Johanna said. If there was another one of those they weren't going to be able to do anything in this form, not even run fast enough to get away from it. That was enough for Jim to take his clothes off so he could shift. Soon there were two Bengal Tigers from Earth standing side by side, scanning the woods for anything they could see or smell.

Rick was standing under the water and was shaking as he relived what he'd done. He hadn't been in a fight like that one in his life and if Katie hadn't been there he would have run like hell. He cared too much about her to let her get killed.

He was letting the water sluice down his face and over his body to get the dried blood to wash away a little when unexpectedly there was someone next to him. It was Katie and she was naked. He was all set to question what she was doing when she slipped her arms around him and pressed herself into him. She was scared, too. Rick wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "Are you hurt?" He hadn't bothered to look. But she shook her head. Her side was still a little sore but it wasn't bad.

"You were amazing!" He was really proud of her.

"I was scared to death. What was that thing?" Katie talked into his chest as she pressed her nose into him and smelled him.

"I have no idea, but if there's one, there's more than one. It probably has a mate somewhere and maybe cubs as well. I think our job just got harder," Rick commented. That caused Katie hold him just a little tighter.

Rick stood there and let his hands move a little to feel her skin. He could feel her breasts against his skin. Now that she was this close and naked it was causing another reaction. He didn't think they were ready for that yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't do what he really wanted to do.

He tilted her head so that she was looking up at him and leaned down so he could kiss her. When she kissed him back he turned the kiss into something more passionate. Rick broke from this kiss so they could both get some much needed air and went back to kiss her. Now they were both searching each others' mouths as the kiss got deeper and more passionate.

After breaking from the kiss Rick was now kissing and sucking at her pulse point on her neck. Katie moaned. They were both thinking the same thing: kiss more of the other person. Suddenly Rick's mind went to that thing that was outside. "We need to stop." Now was not a good time.

"No." Katie could feel her blood warming up and it was going places it had never gone before. She wanted a lot more than just a few kisses. A whole lot more.

"We need to get cleaned up, dressed, and go back to your parents. That thing and maybe its mate are still out there," Rick reminded her.

Katie leaned into him. He was right and she hated it. She and her animal inside her were screaming for more. "Later?" Katie asked.

That had Rick smiling. "Count on it." He tilted her head so he could kiss her again. He had dreamed of a moment like this for a long time.

As they washed Katie found something and now had her hand wrapped around it. She knew what it was but she'd never seen one that looked like this before. She had seen her father's and had caught a glimpse of Rick's. Now she had her hand on her very first one.

Rick's hormones rushed through his blood. If she didn't stop soon he wasn't going to be able to stop himself. He knew Katie was a virgin. He had watched her all her life. She hadn't even touched herself yet. He might not be a virgin but he wasn't that experienced and her touch was magical.

"Katie!" If she didn't cause him to climax immediately he was going to lift her up and take her right here and now. She didn't want to remove her hand, but she had agreed to get clean and join her parents. "Later." They were going to do everything later. With great reluctance she took her hand away and went back to scrubbing herself. Then the warm air blew them both dry.

They got dressed together and Katie even put on that bra that she didn't really like but it was easy to put on and take off. They stopped at the bedroom door and kissed again, knowing that they both wanted this and what was to come.

Running back to the barn they found Tanelia with Taredd in her arms watching her mate taking pictures. She had found out what they had brought home and wanted to see but she also wasn't going to leave her son all alone in the house.

Katie was all set to ask where her parents were when she saw both of them come into view. They had both shifted into their animals. She hadn't really thought about that but if it came to it she would let her clothes be shredded when she shifted if she needed to.

Hagen was busy taking pictures from every angle he could think of. He had even propped its mouth open so he could take pictures of its teeth and tongue. After he was done with the pictures Rick helped him get measurements of everything. From nose to tail tips. Teeth and nails on its feet. Even the distance between its eyes and ears. While they did that Jim and Johanna gathered up their clothes and went back outside to shift and get dressed. They weren't bashful but maybe Hagen or Tanelia were.

It still stank but they'd done all they could think of doing. "I called the city. They said they would send someone to collect this thing. How many of them do you think there are? They didn't say anything about this thing before we moved here." Hagen didn't even want to see one let alone more of them!

"For there to be one there had to have been more than one at some point. If it has a mate there may be more. It's a predator so it's been living off of something somewhere." Rick looked it over more closely now that he had the time and it was dead. "Horns everywhere, armored back, long, sharp teeth, equally long, sharp nails. What's with the twin tails?" One he could understand but why two?

"They hurt, too." Katie placed a hand on her side where it had hit her and sent her flying.

"It hit you?! You didn't say anything." Rick rushed over to her and wanted to look at her side but she was wearing one of those standard coveralls so he couldn't. He cursed himself silently that he hadn't even bothered to look her over while they were in the shower.

"You're with me, Katie." Johanna took her hand and guided her to the closest place she could think of. That happened to be one of the vertical planter buildings.

"I haven't heard about anyone having any trouble. I mean besides the little stuff like we've been having. This sure as hell isn't little." Hagen's comment had Tanelia holding Taredd a little closer. He was little more than a snack to this thing.

"So what is it eating?" Jim queried. "Something this big is eating something somewhere."

"How far is the closest ocean?" Rick inquired as he went back over to the dead body to look at its feet and tails again.

"The closest is the other side of the forest. It's why we selected this site. No effect from the salt water. The mountains over there help hold in any moisture from the ocean and let it fall as clean rain. We knew there would be wildlife but not anything like this," Hagen replied.

Rick called Jim over for him to look. "What does that look like to you?" Rick asked which also got Hagen and Tanelia to come look as well.

Hagen knew what they were. "Webbed feet! The ocean? What's it doing in the forest? Do you see any gills? Can it breathe in water?" Now Hagen and Rick had something else to look for.

They didn't find anything though Rick had a theory. "So it can't breathe in water but that doesn't mean it doesn't live in water. The webbed feet and twin tails suggest it's a good swimmer." Rick tried to think. "No hair that I can find so maybe it lays eggs."

Hagen snapped his fingers. "It and its mate came to shore to lay eggs and watch them. Then its mate went out hunting for food on the ground for her instead of the ocean." He thought he had it.

"We need to find that nest or we're going to be doing this again and again." Rick didn't like that thought one bit. Once was more than enough for him.

"Katie's hurt." Johanna was back with Katie who was holding her side again. Mostly because her mother had been poking and prodding her, making it hurt.

"Here, take Taredd. I'll get the medical kit." Tanelia handed off her son to her mate and hurried to the house.

"So no hair means it might be reptilian in nature. That might explain its long sinuous body, webbed feet, and twin tails. More comfortable in water than on land," Rick commented.

"It knew enough to hurt Katie," Johanna pointed out.

"She did well. It's dead because of her." Rick heaped praise on her which had Katie blushing. Rick had actually started it, she had just followed his lead.

Tanelia was back with a big bag. She dropped it and opened it to pull something out. "Stand still for me," she told Katie as she turned the device on and ran it over her side. "Two bruised ribs. Nothing looks broken which is good. Some minor arterial damage but that will heal. No cuts." Tanelia stopped using the device. "She's fine. Just bruised. It's going to look ugly but nothing's really damaged."

She put the device away, took something else out, and handed it to Johanna. "Take this. Open it, then shake it, and strap it so that this part is against the bruising around her body. It will help keep the swelling down, let her heal, and feel better. It'll be cold but don't take it off. Then later tonight she should shift and let her animal help heal her. She'll be great come morning."

"Thank you!" Johanna would thank her again later. For now she was taking Katie back to the same planter building so she could attach it to her.

"I hope they show up before this thing really starts to stink." Hagen didn't need this thing stinking up his barn. He worked out here and didn't need to keep smelling this thing.

"Keep it out of the sun, that will help. …I'm thirsty." Rick went to the house to get some water, preferably cold water.

Johanna and Katie were back and Katie was still holding her side. Everyone was there except… "Where's Rick?" If he left to go find that nest alone she was going to kill him. They had plans tonight.

Jim pointed at the house. "Water."

Katie sighed. "I'm thirsty and really tired." This was the second time that she had dragged a dead body a long way and her legs were aching. She went to the house to get something to drink and find Rick.

"I didn't mean for your first day here to be so dangerous. We thought it was just some small wildlife getting a little too curious around our son," Hagen apologized.

"It worked out." Jim wasn't angry. "We're going to need to find that nest if there is one, though. Maybe tomorrow if Katie's up to it. We're going to need a way to take food and water with us." If it was that far they might not make it back the same day.

"We can solve that problem," Tanelia assured him. "We have backpacks for when large animals are shifted. They were a gift. We can't use them but we kept them anyway."

"May I ask what animal you are?" Though Johanna was sure that wasn't going to completely answer her question. She didn't know any animals at all.

"We're Perytons," Tanelia replied and then saw the blank look on her face. "We're birds. About 5 feet tall on average with 7 foot wingspans. You've never heard of us, have you?" How could she not know?

"We don't know any animals. It's a long story. Rick found us and brought us here. He said something about school and working here," Johanna said.

"So we were told. We don't have a problem with that. Do you know when your schooling starts?" If it was tomorrow they weren't going to go looking for this nest tomorrow or possibly any day.

"No," Johanna replied. They hadn't yet talked about that.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Rick was standing there reveling in the feeling of cold water going down his throat. He didn't know just how dehydrated he had become until now.

Katie found him in the kitchen. "Is there another one of those?"

"I'll get you one." Rick got out another glass, dumped in some ice, filled it with water, then handed it to her.

"Thanks." Katie had intended to just sip it but it felt so good she chugged it instead. "Much better." Then she put her glass down and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest and wishing it was bare again.

As Rick put his arms around her he felt something on her side. "What's this?"

"It's cold. Something about a bruise." She was fine. "Is it later yet?" Katie was teasing him but she really did want to know just when later was going to be.

Rick laughed. Somehow she was reading his mind. "Not until the sun goes down and it gets dark out." Though if she was injured maybe they should wait until she was better.

"That's too long. You're sure later isn't now?" Katie asked and felt him laughing.

"I've created a monster." Rick was beginning to wonder if he was going to live through this or be able to keep up with her.

"I am not a m–" Katie tried to deny that she was a monster when he started kissing her.

Maybe later really was now after all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Life**

_Chapter 9_

Katie was awake and looking around. At first she was confused. The space itself didn't make any sense, though the fact it was still dark outside didn't help any. Their space had just the one window on the long side of the container, just like the other bedroom.

However she was really warm and found an arm draped over her. That was when her mind finally woke up and she smiled a wide smile. They had done something last night. To be honest they'd done a lot of something last night.

Right now the arm or more accurately the hand wasn't where she wanted it to be. So she used her free hand to move it and place it on one of her breasts. It even seemingly closed around her breast on its own. For now she was content.

Her mind was awake and started playing back what had happened last night and it made her grin. The feel of him and his touch had caused her to come unglued. She had never felt anything like that before. Maybe he was ready to do it again. Even if his hand was right where she wanted it. He had shown he could do lots of things with those hands so she started to twist in place so she could face him.

But she soon learned that was not such a good move. Her movement and weight and just her position caused one or both beds to move and the next thing she knew, two things had happened. One was that the bed screeched across the floor and the second was that she felt her ass hit the floor as she fell.

Now she was looking up at a wide awake but somewhat confused Rick. She was laughing her head off. They'd pushed their beds together so that they would have more space and it had worked perfectly for the most part. Now those same two beds weren't side by side and she was on the floor.

Looking up at Rick she saw he had a grin on his face which only set off her laughing even harder. She'd wanted to do it all over again and here she was on the floor.

Katie was still laughing as Rick got up and reached down to pull her up to a standing position. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she'd moved, the beds had separated, and she'd ended up on the floor. "Are you okay?" She certainly didn't sound hurt.

"Yeah. Stupid bed." Katie was still grinning and chuckling at herself.

"Just what were you trying to do anyway?" She should be sleeping.

Despite landing on the floor she still had one thing on her mind. "This." She reached down to take hold of him in her hand.

"Ohhh." Rick embraced her which caused her to let go of him so she could do the same. "You're not tired?" he asked.

Well actually, no, she wasn't. "I am if you are." She smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. But while he was kissing her she had an idea. So she broke from the kiss to ask her question. "Can you teach me how to shift part way like you do?" She even had more than one reason to learn now.

"You remember my warning, don't you? Your animal could take over and you'll never be in this form again." She was asking a lot. Last night had been a dream come true for him. Now she wanted to risk all that.

"I heard you. I only listen when I'm hunting and I'm not hunting at the moment. …Please," she begged.

"Katie, you don't know what you're asking of me. If this doesn't work I'll lose you. We'll never do what we just did again. You'll never talk to anyone ever again. You need to be sure, really sure." Rick warned.

"I _am_ sure." A blush rose on her cheeks. "I want us to do what we did last night while shifted halfway." There she had told him her other reason. "Can we do that?" she asked expectantly. She didn't even know if he kept his or she kept hers for them to do it again. She didn't even know if she kept her breasts. She was hoping to at least have lips like his so they could kiss.

Rick moaned, let go of her, and paced around the beds as Katie watched him. He finally stopped and opened his mouth to ask her again but closed it. Then his frustration with her surfaced. "Why do you have to…" He left off _be such a pain._ He really didn't want to but he capitulated. "Fine, but this is not a good idea."

Katie, though, thought it was a great idea for a lot of reasons.

They were both still naked so that part was already taken care of. Rick groaned but came over to Katie. "You need to want to change to your animal form but you have to see yourself like you are now with just little changes. Keep your body but add your animal. You want to see yourself as both," Rick tried to explain. Then he stepped back to give her some space.

"Mostly me and part animal," Kate said to herself.

"Don't be surprised if this doesn't work the first time, or the second, or even the third. You're trying to do something that comes as close as you're ever going to come to having both of you in charge of the same body as you're ever going to come. That's why it's so dangerous. You need to be sure you are who you are and really want this or this could be the end," he warned her again.

"Shift but still be me or mostly me." Kate thought she got it. "Do I try and stop part way?"

Rick went over it once more. "No, you need to see what you want. You want to be all of you. You as you are now and you the animal. You both get what you want at the same time with you and not your animal in charge."

"Mostly me and part animal." Katie tried to picture what that would look like and shifted but found herself on all four paws. That was not what she wanted and she groaned internally. So she shifted back to her normal form.

"Mostly me and part animal." She tried again but she was on all four paws yet again. She shifted back. "Why is this so hard!? She knew what she wanted to achieve so it should be easy.

"I don't know, Katie. It works for me. …Perhaps if you tried shifting halfway after or if you fail again. Do it from your animal form. Show your animal that you're willing to share if it will give in a little."

"Maybe." She was shifting in each direction so maybe it didn't matter what form she was in when she tried. "Mostly me and part animal." Katie tried again and could see it in her mind and opened up her eyes to only find herself still on all four paws. _"Aw, come on. I'm willing to share. All you have to do is let me stay in charge. We can be both of us__,__" _she said to her animal.

This time instead of just shifting back to try again she tried it Rick's way. She pictured what she wanted to see and shifted.

Katie was standing again like always only when she looked at Rick his mouth was hanging open. She could also hear her animal a lot louder this time. That had never happened before. When she was her it was basically just a whisper except when she had shifted and was out hunting.

"Did it work?" she asked hopefully and stretched her hands and arms out in front of her so she could see them. This time they were covered with white and a little gray hairs all over. Her hands were hands but her claws were much more prominent. She moved her hands to her face so she could feel it and mostly she felt hair. "Did it work? I think it actually worked." She could hear her voice. But Rick was still silent so she all but ran to the bathroom they shared with her parents, turned on the light, and looked in the mirror. What she saw had her mouth falling open.

Katie moved a finger to touch everything. Her hair was now much shorter and it was mostly white with a touch of gray. Just like all of her face was though her face was mostly white. She had this cute little black nose that she loved. Her eyes were large and now very colorful. However, it was her lips that had her attention. Her lips were full and black now. She even saw that her whiskers were white and much longer.

Looking down she found that her breasts were a little larger and devoid of hair. Just her breasts, though. The rest of her had hair all over. She twisted around to try and see her ass. It was bigger and it was hairy but it was also tailless and mostly white with a sprinkling of gray.

She looked down at her legs that were also covered with the same hair. Her feet looked more like paws to her only bigger. She realized that if she concentrated she could get her claws to extend and even they were larger.

Then she put her hands on her core and was a little amazed that it was bald but was just the right size.

"You're gorgeous!" Rick was stunned. She really was a mix with the beauty of both. Katie turned to face him.

"It worked! It actually worked!" She couldn't be more excited if she tried. She could also hear her animal suggesting something and she agreed easily. Katie moved up to him, kissed him, and felt his lips against her new fuller lips. But this wasn't what her animal was suggesting. "Shift for me. Halfway like me. Please. …I want us to do what we did last night like this. Can we? …Please."

"Make love to each other while shifted halfway?" Rick questioned her.

She didn't know those words but if that was what they'd done last night then, yes, that was what she wanted to do. "It's still me. We both want this. Can we?" Katie willingly let him guide her over to the bed and even helped him push the beds back together again. She so wanted this!

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They were both now back in their normal forms and this time Katie was lying across him so that she didn't fall on the floor again. "We need to do that more often," Katie purred which had Rick chuckling. He was definitely going to have trouble keeping up with her.

"It actually worked. It really worked." Katie was really happy. She felt… Well, she didn't have words for how she felt. They had done it in this form and now the new form and she was hard pressed to say which was better. Half shifted had been incredible so maybe that was better. She didn't care; they were going to do it both ways from now on.

"You're amazingly beautiful." Rick took her hand and kissed it since it was about all he could reach like this.

"So are you. I really like your little yellow areas. How did you get the yellow in your ears? Mine are white." They were larger than normal but white.

"Just lucky, I guess." Rick hadn't tried to do that. It was just natural. "How's your side?" He moved her so he could see it and it still looked a little tender but it wasn't bad.

"It's fine. I don't even feel it. I am really hungry, though. Is that because of all the shifting?" Did that take it out of her?

"A little, but mostly it's the sex. That's what we've been doing for a while. Making love. Having sex.… You do know this could lead to you having a baby like your parents did when they had you, don't you?" Rick wanted to make sure she knew that though he had a secret.

"Yeah. Does that mean we have to stop?" She really didn't want to stop. In fact she wanted to do it again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and….

"No." Then he told her his little secret. "I had a shot before coming here. I can't get anyone pregnant for a whole year. So you're not going to end up pregnant like your mother was when she had you."

"Good because we're going to be doing that a lot," Kate informed him quite seriously which made him chuckle. Rick was pretty sure he had been right earlier. He had created a monster.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They had all eaten breakfast though it was another vegan meal since their mission to get meat had turned up something else instead.

The beast was gone; it had been picked up yesterday. Hagen had left them to answer a video call and was just now coming back. "The military here is sending over two people to talk to us. They should arrive around lunch time. They want to talk about a plan to find this possible nest and find out if it has a mate or worse, offspring."

"That will give us about 4 or 5 hours to do some real hunting. Your cooking skills are amazing, but I for one would like some meat to go with it," Rick said with a smile.

"Thanks." Her mate had congratulated her for her cooking since they had met, but it felt good for someone else to think so. It didn't hurt that Tanelia like to cook.

Right after breakfast Jim and Johanna went one way while Rick and Katie went another. They all knew this was a hunting expedition but this time they didn't want to run across another one of those creatures. If anyone did, this time they were supposed to run for home.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Hours later Johanna was carrying back her one small kill. It wasn't a lot but it would add meat to anything Tanelia made.

Rick and Kate however had gotten more lucky. They had run across a small herd of Gemsboks that sported single horns like a unicorn. Together they brought one down and were dragging it back home until Hagen and Tanelia spotted them and had come running to help.

Hagen was just finishing gutting it and cutting it into various meat sections when a military vehicle arrived. He finished the last of it as Tanelia bagged it. Processed, it went down into their below ground walk-in freezer.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

"I'm Lieutenant Mylaela Sylqen and this is Sergeant Abarat Keamys. We're here to put eyes on the ground a little before we come back tomorrow in full combat gear with overnight packs. Our orders are to allow you to be our scouts. Spot and identify either a nest or a target at which point we will take over. If possible we'll use stunners and take it alive. Once it's stunned we'll call in for air support. They'll deliver a cage for it. If we find a nest there are two options. If they're still eggs we'll collect them and pack them out. If they are really young we call in for more air support and take them alive. Otherwise we may be forced to kill them. In either case all we want out of you is to scout. No more combat for you, that's our job. …Questions?"

"Just Katie and I again or all four of us?" Rick inquired.

"I'll be going with you two," she pointed at Jim and Johanna, "while Sergeant Keamys will be going with you two. The plan as it stands now is to split up into two teams. We will make our way via transport to each end of the forest and work our way up the coast until one of us encounters something. We'll contact the other team and if possible wait for them to arrive and then take action together.

"Command agrees with your theory that while they don't live in the water since they lack gills, their physiology does suggest that they're comfortable in water. Perhaps hunting in the shallows and only going deep when necessary. Since they lack gills they also agree with your theory that they would come to shore to lay eggs then guard them until they hatch," Mylaela explained.

"Then why did this one come so far inland?" Hagen queried. If they liked water why enter the forest?

"That Command couldn't answer. However we developed a theory about that on the way out here." Mylaela let the sergeant explain his theory.

"If they are eggs and if they do stay to guard them, one might be guarding from anyone from the water while the other does the same from land. Best guess is that they bury the eggs to generate the heat that they need. Anyone can be a predator to eggs. You two would have been seen as even worse than that and would have had to be killed."

"So why have we not seen them until now? We and the others have been here for months." Hagen asked since no one had reported a problem like this until now.

Rick had an answer for that. "There's natural precedent for that. Many animals only mate once a year. If they're eggs, when they hatch the young may instinctively head for the water and feed in the shallows, so we missed them. This may be their mating season."

"Oh, great! That means there'll be more of these things out there. We go looking for one and we may end up with several all on the same beach." Jim hated the sound of that idea.

"Perhaps, but they may be territorial even in mating season. We have one for this forest while there are others scattered all over the place. You might want to warn Command. You guys just might be really busy about now," Rick told the two soldiers.

"We'll inform Command. For now we'll be back just before first light tomorrow and will move out in transport before the sun comes up, so be ready. Do you have animal packs?" They would provide them if they didn't.

"We have two that we're going to let them use," Hagen said.

"Good. We'll be suiting up and moving out in animal form with you along with our own packs. Plan for two days, three at the most. At the end of three we'll contact Command. We'll either be airlifted out or be resupplied.

"I understand you four are here for hunting and guard duty." She looked at Hagen and Tanelia. "I can only suggest that you two lock up and spend as much of your time indoors as as possible to protect your son." It was the best Mylaela could offer them.

"I'm curious, what animal are you two?" Only Rick, Hagen, and Tanelia would know anything about that but he was curious as to just how powerful these two were.

"I'm an Abeil while Sergeant Keamys is a Yak, so be prepared," Mylaela warned them.

"OH, BOY!" Rick could just tell this was going to be fun. None of these three had any idea what either of those two were. He wondered if he could find a picture of either of them so they could be prepared.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Life**

_Chapter 10_

Katie was yawning next to an equally sleepy Rick as the four of them were eating breakfast that Tanelia had been kind enough to get up early and make for them. Rick was a little upset with himself that he had let Katie talk him into a lot of sex last night because right now he was paying for it. Though Katie, on the other hand, was tired, she wasn't a bit sorry for last night.

"Sorry, no pictures. Just don't freak out when you see them. Just remember they're on our side and since they are military they're highly trained. Their job might be to find the other one or the nest if either of them even exist, however they're also there to protect you. So let them do their jobs," Rick warned and asked them.

"I need to pack your bags for three days." Tanelia left them so she could grab their bags, come back, and pack them.

Tanelia was just finishing. "Sounds like your rides are here." She could hear a soft whine that announced that their rides were indeed here.

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Outside they saw two large what to Rick looked almost like buses with a door lifted open in the middle on this side. It was sitting on the ground now but he could tell it was meant to hover over the ground like most everything did.

Lieutenant Mylaela Sylqen and Sergeant Abarat Keamys exited from each of their rides and walked over to them. They were both dressed in something just like what Jim, Johanna, and Katie were wearing, universal coveralls.

"If you're ready we need to get moving. You two are with me while you two are with Sergeant Keamys." Jim and Johanna were going with the lieutenant while Rick and Katie got the sergeant.

Once inside they saw it was a little bigger than it looked. There were places to sit on either side and it looked like it could hold twelve or maybe fourteen people. With just three it was a little empty.

"Channel 188, Sergeant," Mylaela yelled before he closed the door and signaled back.

The ride was remarkably smooth. "We get all the old stuff," Mylaela told Jim and Johanna as a way of an apology. "Do you know what an Abeil is?" Her race could be a little intimidating. Not so much as what they looked like, but what their race used to do ages ago in terms of trying to find a way to expand their colonies.

Jim and Johanna shook their heads since they had little idea. Rick had tried to explain but his words didn't make any sense to either of them.

"Just remember I'm on your side. Try not to get too far away from me if you can help it. I'm also here to protect you. Don't worry about it. You'll get used to seeing me." They had up to three days to get used to being around her. Jim and Johanna did see she had a pile of items on one of the seats that were likely hers. She definitely had more stuff to carry than they did.

Katie and Rick meanwhile were silent. Katie mostly because being inside this thing made her feel uncomfortable. It just wasn't natural like all the other transports she and her parents had taken to get to there.

It took them over an hour and the sun still wasn't up when they stopped. Mylaela went outside to look the place over and then came back in to gather her stuff. "I'll be outside getting ready. For now I'll let you have some privacy to strip, shift, and put on your pack. Then once our transport's gone we'll move out." She gathered up her stuff and went outside.

"Any idea just what she is?" Johanna asked Jim yet again only to see him shake his head. Both of them stripped and Johanna stuffed their coveralls, which was all they were wearing, into one side of their carrier. Then Jim shifted and Johanna got to work putting the pack on him. There was a strap across his chest, another one just behind his front legs and another two for his rear legs. Then she had to adjust the straps yet again. They'd practiced this last night. Only this time the bags on either side of his body had all their food and water. It was meant to help balance out the weight. Then Johanna shifted and they went outside to see what Mylaela looked like.

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Sergeant Keamys, they both learned, wasn't bashful and had stripped straight away. He had far more stuff to put on than either of them did.

Rick stripped and shifted allowing Katie to put their pack full of food and water on him like they had practiced just once the night before, thanks to Katie. Then Katie stripped, stuffed both of their coveralls into a pocket, and shifted into her animal form. Since they were done they went outside to look around and wait for the sergeant.

When he came out Katie's tiger mouth fell open in astonishment. He was freaking massive! He didn't have toes or shoes. But what he did have looked really hard. Like they were giant nails or something. He was mostly all dark gray hair. He was wearing something that covered his chest and he had matching bracers at his wrist. His face was, well it was rather flat. He had a broad nose and a wide mouth. However it was the whatever they were, that came out of either side of his head that had most of her attention. Whatever they were they looked really hard, pointed, and deadly.

He had a pack on his back and he was carrying something large in his arms with something smaller strapped to his side. What she wanted to do was ask Rick if he was half shifted like she had just learned to do but couldn't in her full animal form. Rick was snickering inside at her reaction since he already knew what he was going to look like.

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Jim and Johanna came out in their animal forms, ready to get moving, and stopped dead in their tracks. What they saw in front of them was nothing like they'd ever seen before. Rick had tried to describe her but they didn't understand and maybe still didn't.

The lieutenant was taller now and she was gold with broad black horizontal stripes. Her legs were replaced with, they weren't sure just what, except that they looked really thin and ended in flat feet that had only three toes. Her arms and hands looked mostly the same save for the color if not more muscular looking. Her head was just different. Her eyes were big and black, her ears looked almost unchanged and were just as long and pointy as usual. However coming out of her forehead were these two things. They were moving all over as she just stood there. Then there were the whatever they were on her back. They were almost see through yet there were a number of black lines in them all over and there were four of them. They were maybe a little large for her.

Then she made them move quickly before stopping and almost disappearing behind her back. "Haven't seen anything like me, have you?" Mylaela queried, knowing that they couldn't talk when shifted like they were now. "That's okay, you'll get used to me. Try not to get too far away from me. I'm also here to protect you. I haven't seen anything like you two, either. Size yes, color combination, no."

They saw she had a bag on her back below her wings and she had two other things hanging at her sides, whatever they were. Then she lifted something small and narrow, put it over her head and into her ear, then adjusted a piece close to her mouth. "Sergeant Keamys, communications check," she called out and listened intently. "Copy, we are moving out. Lead the way, please." She motioned for them to go first into the forest.

When each group entered the forest their rides left them.

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Rick and Kate soon learned that Sergeant Keamys didn't walk softly. He was too big and heavy to do that. It also meant that anything near them ran for their lives. Yet as big as he was and as much noise as he made when he walked, he himself was really quiet. He mostly never said a word.

The first time he really said much was when he called for them to stop and join him to eat something.

They watched as he shouldered his weapon, took his backpack off, and searched it for something. It had Kate shifting to normal and started digging into a pouch Rick was wearing and found something for both of them to eat.

"May I ask what you are? I've never seen anything like you before," Kate said though she hadn't seen a lot of things before.

"My animal is a Yak. It's basically a beast of burden. I have great strength and can last a long time even after being injured. I'm perfect for ground work," Abarat answered.

"So are you half shifted at the moment?" Katie questioned again. "I only just learned to do it."

"Yes, I have no fear that I'll lose myself to my animal. The military drills control into you. My animal can scream all it wants at me and I can choose to ignore it or not. I can stay like this for days. It has its advantages. May I ask what you are? Him, I know, but I've never seen anyone like you," Abarat inquired.

"I don't actually know. I'm a different race than you are. Based on what I've been told my parents and I are all there are," Katie explained.

"I'm sorry. I have a large community and a large family. I did notice that you look different. You've come to the right place. Everyone's a shifter without exception. I don't even know how many different animals there are. It's a lot, though," Abarat said. He glanced around and tightened his hold on his weapon. "You should drink just a little. We need to get moving again."

"May I ask what that is you're carrying?" Katie didn't know what it was.

"This baby here? She's a soldier's favorite thing in the world. Beautiful, isn't she?" Abarat patted his weapon and stood since he was ready to get going again. Katie, who hadn't really learned just what it was, shifted to her animal form and walked next to Rick.

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Jim and Johanna were doing the same at almost the same time. Johanna shifted and dug out some food for both of them.

Unlike Abarat and Katie they started out more quietly. "I don't bite," Mylaela reassured them.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say. We've never seen anything like you before," Johanna apologized nervously.

"It's okay." Mylaela proceeded to share some of her kind's history. "Long ago my animal tried to take advantage of a lot of people. The war we started because of it reduced our numbers greatly. We learned a lot since that time. We fit in a lot better now. Our thinking has changed. You can't learn if you don't know what you've done."

"We don't have a history. If we were told the truth we're clones from a place that might not exist now. We were told we were all they could find. Even we don't know what we are exactly." Johanna didn't really have a past. She didn't have parents, unlike Katie.

"The last of your kind?" Mylaela asked in surprise. "That has to hurt. …A word of advice then. Don't let them just take your DNA to make more of you through the cloning process. DNA that rare is worth a considerable fortune. If they've gone to this much trouble you might be worth a lot. You might think you're the last of your kind, but it doesn't have to stay that way. …Something for you to think about."

That was something Rick hadn't said anything about. It gave both of them a lot to consider.

"Drink a little of your water and let's get moving. We can stop before it gets dark and do some hunting if you like." Mylaela stood up and was ready to get going. Johanna shifted to her animal form and joined her mate out in front again.

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Lieutenant Mylaela Sylqen and Sergeant Abarat Keamys checked in when they both stopped for the day and confirmed that so far they had seen nothing.

Jim and Johanna were out hunting as Mylaela kept watch and waited for them to return with or without anything. She still wasn't sure just what they were but she didn't hear anything so she assumed for now that they must be good at it. But when they came back about an hour later she didn't think less of them because they came back with nothing. It was fine; they had food and water to last them three days before being airlifted out.

Jim and Johanna shifted back from their animal forms and got dressed. "No fire?" Jim queried.

"I didn't think one was needed. We can get an early start if you're willing to turn in now." She dug around in her bag, pulled out something, and set it on the ground. Then she pressed a remote and a tent that looked a lot like the surrounding area popped up.

"It sleeps four so we should be good. The mesh is tight enough to keep out the bugs and it blends in enough so most animals won't notice it. There's an alarm if anyone attempts to gain entry." Mylaela opened it up and went inside.

Jim and Johanna had never seen anything like it so each ran a finger over it to see what it felt like. It seemed flimsy but it beat sleeping outside which was what they thought they would be doing. Going inside they saw that she'd shifted to her normal form. "Press here and here if you two want a bed instead of the hard floor." Mylaela demonstrated by pressing hers and made sure her gear was settled between them and her. She stretched then lay down on her bed.

Johanna pressed what she'd been shown and her eyes opened wide as she watched her bed just sort of pop up out of the floor. Lying down on it revealed that it was quite comfortable. Jim pressed his and lay down next to her.

Mylaela briefly propped herself up on her elbows. "We may see something late tomorrow so get some sleep. I sleep very lightly so there's nothing to worry about." She was sure if there was something she would hear it and react to it.

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Katie watched in renewed amazement as Sergeant Keamys pressed something and their tent went back to being next to nothing that he just picked up and put back into one of his bags. She even opened her mouth to ask more about it but closed it and said nothing. Maybe later.

She and Rick were back out in front only this time they were on the beach, walking through sand. Thanks to being in her animal form she couldn't ask what this stuff was. It was warm, soft and easy to move, yet harder to walk on. At least until she found out that the darker stuff that was actually a little wet was harder and easier to walk on.

Sergeant Keamys stopped for a moment to check in with Lieutenant Sylqen to make sure they hadn't seen anything yet, either. A quick scan using infrared showed several hot spots but nothing of the size they were looking for.

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A short stop for lunch and they were still on the beach when Katie, who was now out in front of Rick, stopped to smell the air. She thought she had caught a whiff of something, something familiar.

Rick stopped next to her and watched her so he did the same. He looked around. The smell wasn't all that strong but it was familiar enough. He turned his head to look back at Sergeant Keamys and bared his teeth. That seemed to get the desired result as the sergeant lifted his big weapon into more of a firing position instead of just carrying it around. He went to infrared for a moment but didn't see anything.

With eyes, ears, and smell going strong and being alert, both Kate and Rick moved forward again while scanning the entire area.

Eventually they stopped at a layer of dead leaves, driftwood, and just plain junk. Both of them walked around it and sniffed it like mad. It was barely on the beach, just at the edge of the woods.

Rick left it to watch the woods when Sergeant Keamys caught up to them. Kate was mostly observing the sergeant as he used what he was carrying to pull away the top layers. Eventually they saw what they had been looking for.

"Lieutenant, we've found a nest filled with eggs. Based on infrared I would estimate 30 or so. All large. No sign of the creature itself if this is indeed its nest," Sergeant Keamys reported over his communications set.

"Very good, Sergeant. Set up a motion detector and withdraw so you can monitor. It may take us a few more hours to reach you. Stunners only unless you determine your lives are in danger," Lieutenant Sylqen ordered.

"Copy that, stunners only," Sergeant Keamys responded. He knelt and propped his weapon against his leg while he took his pack off so he could find his motion detector. With it in hand he stabbed it into the sand just at the edge of the nest, put his pack back on, and hefted his weapon. "We're ordered to withdraw and watch," the sergeant advised them and walked deeper into the woods.

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About an hour later Sergeant Keamys got an alert from his motion detector that had him coming to a kneeling position with his weapon at the ready. Sure enough he watched as something very similar to the first creature came out of the shallows and made its way toward the nest. "Lieutenant Sylqen, I have positive contact," Sergeant Keamys said very softly into his communicator.

What the lieutenant wanted to do was fly straight to him so she could help. At her speed she might be there in minutes. However, that might be too long and she needed to stay and protect these two.

Sergeant Keamys lined up a shot, fired a stun round, and hit it. But all that did was piss it off as it roared its defiance and looked for what had dared attack it.

He calmly increased the power a couple of notches and fired another one. Only this one had the same affect. It roared its defiance but now it knew where he was and charged across the sand straight for him. He simply increased the stun rounds to maximum and fired another one that got it to falter for a moment. He had time for one more round; he chose to keep the stun setting and fired a burst of three.

That had it doing a nose dive into the sand just a few feet away from him. Just then Rick leapt over it and kept on running followed by Katie doing the same thing. Both were going to do what they had done last time, rip one of its rear legs open. It just so happened to be the same left rear leg.

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Katie, Rick, Jim, and Johanna were standing there in their normal forms and were even clothed as they, along with Lieutenant Mylaela Sylqen and Sergeant Abarat Keamys, watched the transport holding a caged, whatever it was, along with the nest of eggs fly away.

"Nice work, Sergeant." Lieutenant Sylqen knew he was more than capable and he had achieved the desired result. They had a live one and eggs for somebody to study.

"Our transport will be in here fifteen. We'll drop you as close as we can to your farm. Let us know if you encounter another one. This is the most action I've seen since I've been here." She had actually enjoyed it even if she hadn't done that much and the sergeant had seen all the action.

Sergeant Keamys simply grunted his agreement.


	11. Chapter 11

**Life**

_Chapter 11_

_It is now one year later_

Jim and Johanna were currently out hunting for some meat. They had proven to be better at it than Rick and Kate.

Kate was presently inside one of the vertical farms as she selectively harvested certain containers. Being in her doing this was far better than what Rick and Hagen were presently doing. It was the beginning of harvesting season and this was when the farm made most of its money.

Hagen had purchased used equipment. However, that didn't mean they were bad and couldn't do the job. They simply had old fashioned tires and not just any tires. These babies were big tires. The latest equipment all had the hover capability so that you were a lot less prone to doing any damage to your crops.

Hagen drove the harvester while Rick was driving the storage vehicle. Hagen had A/C while Rick did not. He also got a lot of dirt and byproducts floating into his cab. It was why he was wearing a filter mask to keep all that stuff out of his lungs. It was also why Kate liked vertical farming instead.

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The sun was down and everyone, save for Rick, was basically hovering around the kitchen. Including little Taredd who was walking now. Though sometimes a little unsteadily when he was overly excited and wanted his legs and feet to move faster.

"There, I feel much better." Rick walked in after taking a shower to get clean from a long day of hard work.

"Much better." Katie kissed his cheek. She had clapped both hands over her mouth when she had seen him come in from helping Hagen. She hadn't wanted to laugh directly at his face given that he was a complete mess and almost didn't know where he was under all that.

Jim and Johanna had come to learn that these two were madly in love with each other. They had even seen both of them together while half shifted. They themselves had no intention of trying it. But they were happy for them.

"So what are you going to do with their latest offer?" Hagen was curious as he watched his mate make another one of her specialties.

"We rejected it based on Rick's advice. They keep coming back with a new one each time though. We're just not sure when that will stop and be the last one," Jim replied.

Jim and Johanna, after talking with Rick and Katie, had taken Lieutenant Sylqen's advice about not letting them just take a DNA sample and do what they wanted. If they wanted it they were going to have to pay for it. Rick was trying to get them to pay through the nose for it, too.

He was convinced they had been going to leave them there to die when their sun blew up and took their system and them with it. He might have gotten into trouble for it, but he still defended his actions that day. Besides it had given him Katie and that was the best part.

Hagen offered some more advice. "Just make sure they give you a complete topography map and that includes everything below ground and don't get anything older than what we have. Newer if you can talk them into it. But don't make it too new. Old things are easier to fix. New stuff can often times require a specialist which means it will cost you more when it breaks down. And trust me, it _will_ break down."

"Are you sure you're not taking on too much?" Tanelia was worried.

"I'll get it." Rick left the kitchen and went to their bedroom. They had finally found a more secure way of holding the two beds together so that one of them didn't end up on the floor again. He found the pad easily and headed back to the kitchen.

"We're still tinkering with it, but this is what we have so far." Rick brought up the floor plan for what they had planned. Assuming they could get enough money from Jim and Johanna's DNA and added to what Rick had saved up.

Rick turned on the visual 3D mode so that it just hung in the air so everyone could see it.

There was a large round pad for ships to land on. The building itself was uniquely designed. It looked like a giant mushroom with glass on one side. The opposite side was all concrete that sloped down from the roof of the mushroom in a large arc that had two massive beams leading to dissecting it into three pieces.

There were lights for eight landing pads. Then it demonstrated how the mushroom had canopies that could be extended over each of the eight spaces to provide cover from the weather if necessary.

"Grain ships are huge," Hagen reminded them. Actually grain ships were nothing more than a cockpit up front, an engine room in the back, and a central spine where huge cargo containers capable of space travel were attached, not damaging the crops that might be in their own cargo containers inside of those. Most could carry twelve on either side while a few held eighteen or more containers.

"We know, that's why except for this area here where the glass is the rest of it's hollow. Those big ships can just roll right in, get their containers attached, then roll right on though out the other side and take off." At least that was the plan.

"A combination space port and vertical farm. …Interesting." Tanelia still wasn't sure what to make of the idea.

"The idea is to make money from both sides. We grow some of our own crops in this area under the enormous beams while at the same time charge landing fees for all the ships that arrive. They either arrive to offload something or to load crops for transport.

"We rent out space behind this glass area for shipping companies or civilian transport. Then we rent out spaces on the perimeter for them to build their own maintenance hangars to service their ships.

"Above the ticket counters and cargo offices will be restaurants that rent space. Then above that will be a hotel that also rents space. What we haven't solved is the parking problem," Rick explained as the design slowly rotated to give everyone a view from all sides.

"Where are the grain silos? Or do you plan on those being somewhere else and having the containers loaded there and brought here? How do they get to this loading that are under your giant roof?" Hagen queried.

"Have we even thought of having silos?" Rick questioned, looking at the others and seeing shaking heads. "As for the containers themselves, they arrive through this tunnel under this center section here between the two beams. One side is container storage and the other is vertical farming.

"Melmac is a lot smaller than here so it should only need the one space port. Eliminates competition, increases the profits," Rick offered. "Of course it's going to take a while to build it and get all the spaces rented. At first it might be a financial struggle, but it should work." Nothing was a guarantee, but they thought they had it all planned out.

"So where do you guys live?" Tanelia inquired since all she'd heard so far was the business side of this plan.

"On top of the hotel. One big wall of glass looking out onto the space port landing pad. That or we put a dome on top dead center and live up there. Have to get architects and engineers to sign off on all this first, of course." Right now it was just a design concept.

Tanelia shared her choice. "I vote dome."

"I agree, dome definitely," Rick nodded. "Who wants to watch ships come and go all day? Leave that to the hotel guests." It might even be a draw for the hotel.

"So why a space port?" Tanelia was curious. They were proving to be good at hunting and farming so why change even if it did have some farming involved.

"My mother," Rick admitted. "She caught wind that there was someone that was going to build an amusement park and a water park as well as a hotel or two to try and keep guests on the property. Make it a destination spot."

"Ooo, even we don't have one of those." Tanelia was interested now if it was true. "Better know for sure first or you're taking a risk."

"It's still a farming planet and they'll need a space port. And if they do build it, it should help fill the hotel and keep who owns it profitable and willing to pay the rent," Rick said.

"What about you three?" Hagen hadn't heard much from them so far. What did they think of this?

Jim answered Hagen's question. "We barely understand what you have here, but if it gives Katie a future, we're all for it." How things worked around here let alone there was still a bit of a mystery. Their lives had been really simple and now they weren't.

"Do you have a plan B? In case you don't get the money you want or need for this?" Hagen questioned since what they were talking about wasn't just a little bit of money, it was a lot. Granted some of it was going to be someone else's money. Like the hotel, restaurants, maintenance bays around the outside. Everything else was on them.

Rick shook his head. "Not yet, no. Not if we include where we're going to live or if the architect or engineers cost more than we are allowing. If we can get money enough to pay for our place and maybe some cost overruns I have the money for their place either next door or across the hall.

"The only thing that has me concerned is how long it will take to rent all of the spaces and start bringing in money. That's the only part that worries me. …Mostly." He worried about a lot of things but that was the big one.

"Your contract is for another year anyway so you have time," Hagen reminded them.

"We're going to miss you." Tanelia could already see them gone looking at this thing floating in her kitchen and she really was going to miss them.

"Well if they actually do build that amusement part and water park we'll get you a hotel room or find space in our place for you so you can visit," Rick offered.

"Maybe once Taredd is big enough to enjoy it and we can get away and not worry," Tanelia said.

"You want to touch?" Katie was watching Taredd reach for what was spinning in his kitchen. So she lifted him up so he could wave his hands through what might be their new home years in the future.

Listening to Rick talk about the architect taking almost a year while the engineers take almost another year followed by how long it might take to build it, meant years from now. That was why they needed the money now. The terraforming project was about a year or more and they needed that time to get the architect started and then the engineers so they could start construction the second they got clearance to build. Though as soon as they got the money they would be buying the space for it.

Tanelia changed subjects. "How are your classes coming?" The three of them went to school and when they got home they started work. The only one who never left was Rick.

"It's still strange. Jim and I sit next to kids that are barely this tall." Johanna reached down to a height that was maybe twice the height of Taredd.

"At first they just all sat there and stared at us. Now you'd think we're their best friends," Jim added.

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Rick really just wanted to get some sleep. He had several more days of harvesting to go and it was wearing him out. Naturally Katie had other ideas. He had no sooner lay down on his back on one of their twin beds then she was on the bed taking him into her mouth to get him hard.

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They were all standing at one set of doors watching it rain and rain hard. Then a lighting flash got their attention followed by the rumble of thunder.

"At least it waited." Hagen was happy for that. He had everything nice and dry in silos. Now it just needed to stop raining so he could get it out of the silos, into containers, and off the planet. Storing it in silos was costing him money.

The rain was at least a good thing. It meant their cisterns would get filled so they would have lots of potable water to use. But it also meant a delay in preparing the land for the next round of crops.

"What about the vertical farms?" Kate questioned since that was where she spent her time when not in school.

"They can wait. It means we have rain water to water them with." Hagen wasn't concerned.

"CISTERNS!" Rick smacked his forehead. "We're planning vertical farms with no cisterns." Rick couldn't believe it. It meant revising their design, requiring more money.

Hagen had an answer. "Do what we did. Just purchase and reuse the cargo containers."

Rick could see it reducing the costs but it was still going to cost them money.

Speaking of money, they saw a vehicle pulling up close to the doors. Apparently even in the heavy rain they were willing to show up and present their next series of offers for Jim and Johanna's DNA. Everyone else everywhere was in the system and had been for generations. The only ones not were Jim and Johanna. It was what made their DNA so sought after.

There were three of them, all men. Like the previous times they used the secondary living room in what was a breezeway where all the doors were open to take advantage of the fresh air while it rained.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Rick watched them apply a local pain killer and insert a rod deep into first Jim's abdomen and then Johanna's to extract the necessary DNA. As part of a separate deal that meant more money they did the same to Katie.

Jim and Johanna were clones so their DNA was only worth just so much. However, what came as a huge sudden surprise was that since Katie wasn't a clone her DNA was worth even more. They basically now had no worries about just what their idea, though it was more Rick's idea, about just how much it was going to cost to design and construct as well as buy the land.

The money was transferred instantly into an account that all four of them could access. Now they needed to get to the space port so they could talk to someone about purchasing the land they needed as well as hiring an architect and making sure the land they chose was zoned for a space port of this size. In addition they needed to make sure no one else had designs on building a space port.

The ones on the home planet were worth more and made far more money than their little place was ever going to make. However on this planet it was more than enough for them.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They were back from the space port and had left finding and selecting the right locations to their architect. They would be doing the searching and check all zoning requirements and do all the research necessary as well as start the design based on what their client had already designed.

They had learned that the terraforming was presently behind the anticipated schedule. So while purchase of the land could happen as soon as they found a site that met the requirements the actual construction couldn't happen until all the drawings had been created, approved by the client, then approved by the governing authority. It meant they wouldn't have anywhere to live for years to come.

The four of them moved back to the kitchen where the others were. "And?" Hagen asked them.

"They gave us more for Katie's DNA than they did Jim and Johanna." Rick hadn't anticipated that. Maybe that was why he had jumped at it without thinking too much about it. "You know our design, we've got what I think might be enough for half again as much. Cost overruns shouldn't be a problem now. We even hired an architect to do most of the work for us. They're going to find the land, do all the research, and get back to us. As well as get started on the design itself," Rick revealed and saw shocked faces.

"I still don't see what's so special about me, but if it gets us what we want…" Katie didn't mind.

"What about you two?" Hagen looked at Jim and Johanna. They had been amazingly silent through out all of this. He was betting they'd said something about the design, but what did they think about the overall plan?

"What Rick's planning is something we don't really understand but it does sound like a solid future. Having said that, since we have extra money, we talked him into buying just a little more land." Jim and Johanna were smiling.

"Melmac may be small, however it does have a mountain in a forested zone. They talked about a hunting lodge. A place to go for a few days and do some hunting of local wildlife. Sounded like a good idea to me," Rick explained. Besides they were Katie's parents and he wanted them happy.

Kate added her thoughts. "We might even get to use it."

"We'll consider it." Johanna teased which got a glare from her own cub.

"Well I think it's amazing if it actually works." Tanelia liked the idea if it will just work out for them.

"Plus you get to stay past your two year contract. I'm going to enjoy the help." Hagen smiled widely at all four of them. Rick rolled his eyes at him. Still it gave them something to do during that time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Life**

_Chapter 12_

_Epilogue_

_It is now 5 years later_

Kate was taking the elevator up to their private level that required a pass code to reach unless it was the fire department or a maintenance person. She was on her way home from school. Amazingly, the school level she was in, which was still grade school, wasn't all that far away. They didn't own any transportation and it was simply easier to walk it instead of going the wrong way for a while before finally making it to the space port where she would be the last one to get off. Of course when it rained she did take the bus, however usually she just walked.

The elevator opened onto a short hallway. On one side was the door to home and the other side was the door to her parents' home. Theirs faced the landing pads of the space port while her parents' home faced toward the largest mountain on the planet. They both had a view, it was just that each one was different.

Kate searched for her fob and ran it across the lock to open the door. It opened onto the wide open living room, dining room, and kitchen. She immediately saw Rick at the dining room table with a computer display right in front of him. She really didn't like him working on the dining room table but their shortsightedness had meant they didn't have an office in their home for him to work in.

They did have an office down on the ground floor but that was rather far away so she tried to ignore it. "What are you working on?" She could guess but it was simpler to ask.

"Bookkeeping. Our renters pay monthly and while we and your parents get our power from the solar panels on the roof, the rest of this place is connected to the main power grid. Our tenants pay all their own utilities but parts of this space port are ours, so we have bills for what we use. In addition we and your parents are connected to the cistern for rain water, however, everyone else, including those sections that are ours in the space port, are connected to the city supply. So we have more bills," Rick explained.

As he talked Kate remembered all that. School always did this to her. Her mind was still focused on school and couldn't switch fast enough. She put her homework on the dining room table next to him and began working on his shoulders. "So how are we doing?" It had been ugly at first but things got better fast.

"We're still making a profit. The hotel's occupied and is paying rent. The companies that are sending ships are still paying rent. We're being paid for container storage. Two companies have maintenance bays under construction so they're paying rent. The hotel has their own restaurant but two other restaurants are operational and paying us rent. We still have empty space for three more restaurants and space for three more maintenance bays.

"We have employees that we pay salaries to. That doesn't include the fire crews for emergencies. Then there's the maintenance for all that equipment." Rick was ready to keep going but Kate had heard enough already.

"So we're making money." That was all she cared about. She left what she really didn't fully understand yet to her mate.

Rick tilted his head back as far as he could so he could look up at her. "Yes, we're making money." He smiled up at her and only stopped when she leaned down to kiss him.

"Where are the cubs?" Kate asked since she didn't see them.

"Napping, thank god." That earned him a soft swat to his head. Their cubs weren't that bad.

Kate had known she might one day end up pregnant. God knows she hadn't expected to have twins. One boy and one girl. They weren't yet a year old but according to Rick they needed to start planning for something called a birthday party.

Kate left him to go to the kitchen and find a cold drink.

"Oh, your parents left for the cabin today. They were talking about staying there for the weekend. Yes, they played hooky from school to get a head start," Rick said.

"We could join them," Kate suggested only to see her mate shake his head.

Rick shot that idea down. "We have a meeting with someone tomorrow who wants to look at one of our empty restaurant locations. See where they are, what size they are, what services are in the space, and what the price is."

"More money." Okay so they wouldn't be joining them. "Water park, maybe?" It was almost right next door and easy walking distance. It was even closer than her school was.

"We can do that. Right after our meeting." Kate walked up behind him and this time she kissed the top of his head. She wasn't even using the translator any longer and neither were Jim or Johanna. They weren't masters at it yet but usually they didn't need it so it didn't work most times.

"I'm going to check on the cubs." The cubs needed to be up soon or they would be up all night long. Kate came back carrying both Elora who was rubbing her eyes since she was still sleepy and Ailen who was wide awake. Rick took him from Kate and sat him in his lap. Rick hugged him and kissed his cheeks.

"You want to help me do the books?" Rick asked him but all he got in return was a hand in his face that just missed his eye by a fraction of an inch. Rick spun him around so that he was facing the table instead of him so that didn't happen again.

Kate played patty cake with Elora then put her in the play pen so she could play with her favorite toy. Then Kate went into the kitchen to make an early dinner.

Their new home was nice and different from everything else. They were on the very top of the spaceport and had one wall that was all glass. Or more accurately glass doors that were presently all open. All they had to do was unlock one set and push each direction to open the space up to the patio area.

Out on the patio was a large dining room table that could seat 8 people. Near by was an outdoor grill. Just beyond the table was a low wall of glass. This wall was needed to keep the cubs from falling into the pool. The pool was narrow but it also stretched from one end of their place to the other. One end had a jacuzzi. Another low glass wall kept them from going over the side and landing on the roof of the spaceport.

Inside there were two bedrooms on one end and their bedroom on the other. Just inside the door was the kitchen that had an island with four seats at the countertop. The front wall of the island was yellow with yellow lights. One end of the kitchen held the refrigerator while the other end held the pantry. The island was about 8 feet long.

Across from the kitchen was the small dining room table that only seated six that Rick was presently using. Most of the space was the living room. The sofa was white and it was curved and easily 16 feet long with an end table on one end. It created an arc and faced the glass wall. In front of it was a glass coffee table.

The ceiling had huge concrete beams. The ceiling was concrete but it had been stamped and colored and looked like real wood. The floor was also concrete though it looked like huge 4 foot x 4 foot tiles. There was a massive 8 bladed ceiling fan that could put out a lot of air if they really wanted it to.

The far end was their bedroom, bathroom, and closet. It also had a wall of glass doors that could be opened and led out to the same patio. There was another bed out on the patio that Rick and Kate had originally thought would be theirs. But it had turned into one big bed for the family to just lounge on and spend time together and watch ships come and go.

To soften all of the hardscape thanks to all the concrete, they had potted local plants set all over the place. However, the ones that Ailen could use to keep himself standing also allowed him to dig in the dirt and spread that dirt all over the floor if they didn't catch him at it.

"THERE!" Rick pointed and got the attention of his son. It was a huge cargo container ship that was taking off slowly as it gained height. Ailen slapped the table with both of his hands.

Ailen liked watching the ships take off and land. He seemed especially fond of the enormous cargo container ships. Thanks to their sheer size they were easy to spot and watch until they got too high.

"He loves those ships," Kate called from the kitchen.

"I'm thinking it's because of the size. I mean seriously, how does something that big and ugly looking really fly? We're both going to rue the day when he figures out the little ones are a lot faster and wants one," Rick warned her.

Kate quickly decided for him. "He flies through space in one of those tiny things over my dead body."

"The show's over so you want down now, do you?" Ailen was getting fidgety. So Rick put him down and watched him crawl straight toward the kitchen and Kate. "Here he comes." Then Rick went over to the play pen and picked up Elora. "How's my favorite girl?" he cooed. He abandoned his bookkeeping and crawled around on the floor with his kids.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

It was the end of their day. Tomorrow was going to be spent at the water park. Kate walked naked out of the bathroom and saw her nude mate sitting on their bed. She got on the bed and crawled over to him and began working on his shoulders. "What's wrong?" He was too silent.

Rick sighed. "Just wondering if I did the right thing. I talked you and your parents into this. We could have spent the money on something else. Maybe even had a place on my home planet. Built a house out on a beach somewhere. Gotten an apartment on the ring, maybe. Bought a space yacht and sailed the stars."

Kate kissed his neck. He really was a good man. "I like it here. School's close, the water park is close and eventually the amusement park will be also. Mom and Dad have their hunting cabin. We're making money. I've got you and we have cubs. I'm right where I want to be." She stopped working on his shoulders and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Now quit worrying. Please shift half way and make love to me. I want you. I need you." Kate nibbled on his ear until he tried to get away and wound up standing in front of her.

Kate stood and shifted half way, smiling at him until he shifted half way so she could kiss him like she wanted to kiss him. She loved him as much now as she did the first time they made love.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

They both woke up suddenly. Their glass wall was still open since it was nice outside with a little breeze. Then they saw a fire. Rick leapt out of bed and ran to the edge of the patio. "SHIT!" Kate was right next to him. "Had to happen some day. Some idiot crashed on take off or landing." Rick hung his head as Kate watched it burn.

"I need to get dressed." They had hired a manager to handle the day to day things and Rick knew he would be handling this. But he was the owner so he should be there, too.

Rick came out dressed and stopped next to Kate who was still standing there. She was watching it burn and the fire crews showing up to put out the fire. "I'll probably be gone all day. The cubs are all yours. Call your parents and go to the waterpark if you still want to. Don't bother cooking for me. You might not see me until tomorrow." He was sure this was going to take time but he didn't know how much.

Rick embraced her and kissed her. She looked up at him. "Stay safe, please. I love you." She was sure it was dangerous.

"I'm not fighting the fire, I'll be fine. …I love you, too." Rick gave her another quick kiss then ran off.

Kate stood there and watched for another minute until it occurred to her that the cubs could probably see this as well and might be scared. Instead of putting clothes on she shifted half way and went to their bedrooms. If they were awake she was going to get them ready to go to the pool. They liked the pool and if they were in the pool they couldn't see the fire.

Kate chose not to call her parents and she didn't take the cubs to the water park. Rick should be there for this.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

She didn't see him all day though the fire was out even if the wreck was still there.

The cubs were finally in bed. She went to bed alone and kept twisting and turning. She couldn't get to sleep. It was partly the crash and partly because she was alone in their bed. Missing him, she switched her pillow for his and cuddled up to it so she could smell him. It was enough so that she could sleep.

(O) * [|] * (O) - [|] - (O) * [|] * (O)

Suddenly she heard their shower running. Still sleepy she stumbled out of bed and found him standing under the water and just letting the water run over him. She stepped into the shower to join him and wrap her arms around him. "How bad?" Kate whispered into his back. He spun to face her. She let him pull her into him and hold her tight. Damn but she loved being in his arms.

"Four dead. It's a total loss," Rick told her and felt her melt into him. "The wreckage is going to be there for a few days until a team from the home planet can come to investigate why. We're now short one landing pad for ships. The only good thing out of it is that they didn't crash at the entrance and exit for the cargo container ships. …This is going to cost us money."

Kate looked up at him. "Why us?" It wasn't their ship. Yes, they were down one pad but they had others.

"Fire service used up foam to put out the fire. We're going to need to replace all that foam which means buying it, having it shipped in, and getting that done before we have another one." They still had foam, but they were short on it now. "We don't have to pay to have the ship removed but if that crash damaged the pad we're going to have to pay to fix it," Rick explained.

"Oh…" Kate was sure they had the money for that. "Four?" People died but this was the closest she had been to people dying.

"Unfortunately it looks like a mated pair and their two cubs," Rick said.

"OH, GOD!" Kate squeezed him a little tighter and pressed her head into his chest.

"How did Ailen and Elora do?" Rick inquired.

"I put them in the pool most of the day so they couldn't see anything. They're fine. All they saw was flames but don't know why," Kate replied.

"Smart thinking." Rick kissed her head then yawned. "I'm really beat and tomorrow's going to be another long day." They still had a wreck to deal with and had to wait for an inspection team to show up.

"How tired?" Kate smiled and slowly reached down to see if she could get him interested in still more sex.

"Not that tired." Rick lifted her head up so he could kiss her.

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Kate woke up to find Rick already gone. She was hoping she had enough time for a shower and to get dressed before checking on Ailen and Elora. Though just as she was getting ready to open a door their front door opened. Only she, Rick, and her parents had a fob to get in with.

"Hi Mom, Dad." She had been hoping it was Rick but her parents were good, too.

"We're back early because we saw a fire," Johanna explained.

Jim held up his bundle. "We brought you some meat, too."

"Thanks, Dad!" Kate was happy to have something fresh instead of frozen like all the meat they bought. She took it and went into the kitchen with it. "We had a ship crash. Either on take off or landing, Rick didn't say and I forgot to ask."

"Oh, no!" Johanna moved to the kitchen while Jim went out onto the patio to look and see if he could see it. Basically all he saw was a burnt pile of metal on one of the pads. There was another ship landing that had no trouble.

"A mated pair and their cubs," Kate told her mother since she still felt bad about that.

Johanna could feel her heart fall and she shook her head. "Ailen and Elora?" She was silently hoping they didn't see anything.

"They both saw the fire but we spent the day in the pool where they couldn't see anything once the fire was out."

"Good thinking." Johanna approved of that move. "A family. That's going to hurt."

"Losing Rick, Ailen, and Elora would kill me. They're my life. I can't lose them, any of them." Kate stopped working with the meat so she could keep herself standing by holding onto the island.

Johanna came around to wrap her arms around her. "You got lucky. Rick's a good man, a smart man." Johanna liked him a lot. "So what's your plan for today? We all have school tomorrow."

"We were supposed to have a meeting with someone who wanted to rent one of our spaces for a restaurant. Unless Rick did it without me. We had planned on spending the day at the waterpark. They both like water a lot." Kate didn't have a problem with water though her animal did, but her animal wasn't the one getting wet.

"Jim and I can go change and we can go with you. Just don't forget the diaper bag and their diaper covers. And the sunscreen." Johanna let go of her.

"Thanks, Mom. Let me see if I can tell Rick where we'll be and give me a chance to get us ready and we can go." Kate would love the help.

"If we stay there long enough maybe he can join us." Johanna kissed her head and went in search of her mate.

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Rick stole himself away and guessed correctly that he would find them at their favorite restaurant.

"You made it!" Kate stood up so she could kiss him.

"My family's here, where else should I be?" Rick kissed her again. "I found a message when I got home so I could change. It was Mother. You three are no longer the only ones of your kind. There are now ten more of you. It's not just you anymore," he informed them. It reinforced his belief that he was right to save them, even if it had cost him in the short term.

Just look what he had gained. Dreams really do come true.


End file.
